The Bill goes to the NA
The Anti-Terrorism Act of 1977 has subsequently undergone amendments because of radical changes in the security situation during the last 36 years. The period saw the expansion of extremism and militancy in the country as never before. Groups of sectarian killers which emerged after 1983 could easily dodge the law as they acted from the shadows. Even when the intelligence agencies caught the terrorists, witnesses declined to cooperate on account of fear while investigators were constantly under pressure. Again, there was no law to punish the financiers. The sectarian outfits thus played havoc in the country. Militant outfits that came into existence after 9/11 further added to the anxiety level of the law enforcement agencies and courts. This led to a demand for changes in the existing law to make it more comprehensive and stringent. The efforts in the direction were however slow and inadequate. Early this year the parliament passed a bill introduced by former law minister Farooq H Naek which made three additions to the Anti-Terrorism Act. The first empowered the government to take action against elements involved in financing terrorism. The punishment proposed for the financers of the terrorists was the confiscation of their property. A second amendment disallowed the revival of banned groups under new names while the third amendment barred courts from granting bail for offences punishable with death or more than 10 years in prison.
A major complaint that has recently emerged is about the inadequacy of security arrangements for the prosecution witnesses and the prosecutors. The first issue was highlighted by the killing of three witnesses in Wali Khan Babar case in 2011. The FIA prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar’s murder, while investigating Benazir Bhutto’s killing in May this year, highlighted the issue of the insecurity of prosecutors.
The new proposals approved by the cabinet on Friday try to address the issue of security that had been neglected in the earlier amendment. Another proposal is aimed at providing the security forces and LEAs special prosecution powers in terrorism related cases. The intelligence and security agencies can after the passage of the amendments be requested to provide support during the interrogation of terrorism suspects. The proposed bill also includes an amendment that requires swift disposal of cases of terrorism within 30 days through special courts. In order to be efficacious laws, have to change in line with the ground realities. In the case of Pakistan the development in anti-terrorism laws has been slow and less than satisfactory. What is more, the laws meant for controlling terrorism have been misused to harass political opponents. Whenever an attempt has been made to make the terrorism laws stiff it has given birth to fears of their misuse. As the bill goes to the NA, it is bound to be analysed from this angle also.
