Islamabad:
After its approval in the National Assembly, the Senate approved on Tuesday the draft 2025 of the anti -terrorism (amendment), restoring powers that allow the agencies of application of the law and the armed forces to detain the suspects for up to three months, a movement that caused a fuss of the opposition banks.
The Minister of State for Interior and Narcotics Control, Muhammad Talal Badar presented the bill, which modifies the subsection (1) of Section 11EEE of the Anti -Terrorist Law, 1997.
According to the amendment, “the government or, where the provisions of section 4, armed forces or civil armed forces have been invoked … For a period that does not exceed three months and after the reasons for registering them, it issues the order for the preventive detention of any person.”
The bill establishes that people suspected of activities against national security, including the death of objectives, rescue and extortion kidnapping, can be arrested for three months, and added that “sufficient reasons of having been so worried, for investigation purposes” are applied against.
The arrests that extend beyond this threshold will be subject to article 10 of the Constitution, which provides safeguards with respect to arrest and detention.
According to the new agreement, if the army or civil forces issue an arrest warrant, the investigation will be handled by a joint research team. “The investigation will be carried out by any police officer below the police superintendent, intelligence agencies, civil armed forces, armed forces and other law enforcement agencies,” adds the bill.
While Jui-F senator Kamran Murtaza tried to transfer the amendments, were rejected by most votes when the Chamber approved the legal clause by clause. According to its object declaration, the current security perspective requires “a solid response that goes beyond the existing legal framework.”
The bill explains that the previous powers under Section 11EEEE, which changed in 2016 due to a sunset clause, should be “re -inserted to empower the government, the armed forces and civil armed forces with the necessary authority to stop people who represent a significant threat to national security.”
The Government argues that the provision would allow preventive detention based on credible information or reasonable suspicion, which allows the authorities to interrupt terrorist plots before they mature.
‘The urgency should not eclipse wisdom’
Defending the legislation, the Minister of Law, Azam Nazeer, Tarar, told the senators: “Currently, the country faces the threat of terrorism and the amendments proposed by Syed Naveed qamar have already been incorporated to make it more effective.”
He pointed out that the bill had approved judicial scrutiny and included a three -year -old sun clause. In addition, he clarified that under clause 2 of the amendment, the detainee would have presented before the magistrate within 24 hours.
However, PTI’s lawyer, Syed Ali Zafar, urged caution, stating: “Some of his clauses are against law and the Constitution, so the bill must refer to the committee.”
“Today we are asked to amend one of the most powerful laws, and more controversial, in our Statutes book: the anti -terrorism law,” said the opposition legislator, and added that the law first arose in extraordinary circumstances to protect Pakistan from extraordinary threats.
“But as legislators, we must always remember: every extraordinary power given to the State can be used and misused,” he warned.
He acknowledged that the anti -terrorism law was made to get rid of the threat of terrorism, which had destroyed the peace of the nation.
“There is no doubt that we have to eradicate the terrorism of the country and punish terrorists. There is no doubt that we will fight terrorism until the last and that together we will win this battle.”
However, he warned that “urgency should not eclipse wisdom.”
The lawyer Ali Zafar also pointed out that the Supreme Court had examined the provisions of the existing anti -terrorism law and decided that many of its provisions were against the Constitution. “It was only after the current law was approved, and therefore there is no place for any change in it. By adding any provision in the existing law and making it more draconian, it will only become unconstitutional.”
He regretted that the amendment proposes that even a sho and stop anyone for a three -month prison period, and the person in prison will not resort to court. “The government can call any terrorist in public order and imprison him,” he warned.
“We must ask ourselves: will this amendment make Pakistan safer or will weaken the constitutional rights that we swore an oath to protect?”
“Our duty is double: on the one hand, to protect the life of our citizens from the scourge of terrorism; on the other, defending those constitutional freedoms without which Pakistan cannot continue to be a democratic state,” he emphasized.
“We have to do an act of balance. Security will have to be balanced against freedom and power against responsibility,” he added.
‘Without softness towards militancy’
The PML-N senator, Irfanul, Siddiqui argued that it could not show softness towards armed militancy. “We do not want terrorists to roam freely, while innocent people are sacrificed … These acts weaken our federation and create distrust between people and the State.”
He said that legislators must surrender to militants or legislate to resist them, arguing that such measures can “prevent crime and also stop the forced disappearances and arbitrary arrests.”
Siddiqui appealed to see the anti -terrorist legislation in good faith instead of a political stick, emphasizing the need for transparent communication of government opposition with the public and the media.
