Of tech-savvy terrorists and outdated laws
In a country where terrorists enjoy the support of technology savvy activists, the agencies of the state need to be a step ahead to be able to cope with the menace they pose. The militants fighting the army in Bajaur and Khyber agencies and the terrorists wreaking havoc in Karachi and Quetta make use of SMS messages, email and social media like Facebook to propagate their views, receive information and issue orders. The performance of Pakistan’s security agencies has somewhat improved over time which has posed limitation on the reach of the militant networks. As things stand, the army is unhappy over the release of suspected militants arrested by the security agencies. There are two reasons why some of those considered confirmed terrorists go scot-free. Either the investigation agencies fail to prepare a foolproof case or vital evidence considered sufficient to prove their guilt is considered inadmissible under the current law.
The media has brought under focus the outdated methods adopted to probe some of the major incidents of terrorism. This shows that officials of the wing need training in modern techniques of investigation. Further, they have to be provided with proper instruments and state of the art laboratories. The complaint regarding the non-admissibility of emails, SMSs, phone calls and audio-visual recordings as evidence needs to be properly looked into. There is a national consensus over fighting militancy and terrorism with the full force of the state. Few would disagree that if this requires updating certain laws, the exercise needs to be undertaken on a priority basis.
The cabinet has approved a bill which needs to be analysed from different angles. A recurring complaint against adding further stringent provisions in the anti-terrorism laws is that they tend to impinge upon individual privacy. This can happen in cases where instead of keeping their target limited to genuine suspects, lazy or unusually curious officials extend their net to all and sundry. This has to be prevented. In Pakistan’s particular context, stringent provisions meant to curb law breakers have often been misused against political opponents. The proposed bill needs to be analysed from this angle also.
The new law must not shift focus from terrorism as this would amount to diversion of attention. The proposed law encompasses an extra wide range that includes offences under the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority Ordinance, Official Secrets Act, Security of Pakistan Act and, to crown it all, the nebulous, one-size-fits-all Prevention of Anti-National Activities Act. Could some of these matters be taken out of the purview of the proposed law to make it more targeted?
