The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), in a statement released, has asked the government of Pakistan not to renew the Protection of Pakistan Act (POPA), 2014, as it ‘oppressive and ineffective’.
“In these two years, not one suspect has been convicted under POPA, so we can conclude that the law doesn’t really protect people in Pakistan from terrorism and other violent acts, but instead it undermines their basic human rights protections,” said Sam Zarifi, ICJ’s Asia director in the statement.
The statement added the Ministry of Interior has confirmed that it planned to renew POPA for another two years.
The ICJ termed POPA as a ‘hastily drafted law’ which will make ‘exceptional circumstances become a permanent part of the legal system’.
“POPA is not only an oppressive law, it has also proven to be completely ineffective. Instead of renewing the law, the Government should focus on strengthening the existing criminal justice system, which is suffering because of years of neglect,” added Zarifi in ICJ’s statement.
The National Assembly in 2014 passed the Protection of Pakistan Bill 2014, which permits security forces to shoot suspects on sight with the permission of a grade-15 official.
The Protection of Pakistan Bill which seeks “to provide for protection against waging of war against Pakistan and the prevention of acts threatening the security of Pakistan” will provide the law enforcers with additional powers.