New Anti-Terror Law Raises Fears over Civil Rights

Pakistan’s parliament recently managed to pass a law on Wednesday which gives security forces extreme powers to take down militants. However, a few activists and legislators believe that it is too harsh and criticized the bill altogether.

The legislation which is known as ‘Protection of Pakistan Ordinance’ has now reached the final stage and is only awaiting the signature of the Pakistani President.

The passed ordinance comes with a backing of several high-profile Taliban attacks and of course due to the most recent attacks which are taking place in the North Waziristan region, where the Pakistani Army has promised that it will eradicate the terrorist problem altogether.

The opposition senator, Afrasiab Khattak, went through the whole law and saw the punitive side of it. He spoke to the press regarding the matter and said, “It is still a very harsh law though. We will be raising these issues again when the law comes up for renewal in two years.”

He revealed that this legislation claims that the suspects can be kept under custody for 60 days without charge so they can be fully questioned regarding different methods. The law also states that the prisoners can be held in secret facilities with little judicial oversight. Moreover, warrantless searches are also allowed; however, the evidence and cause must be presented to the court within two days.

He also said that the original form of the bill was extremely harsh.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=45947

Posted by Ahmad Mehdi on Jul 3 2014. Filed under Latest News, Pakistan, Society. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.