On the night of October 20, shortly before the vote on the 26th Constitutional Amendment in the Senate, Balochistan National Party (BNP) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal and his colleagues were forcibly removed from the guest gallery, apparently for no reason, and then A case was registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
Earlier this month, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur clashed with the Motorway Police on his way to Islamabad to protest and booked more than 30 PTI activists, including them, under the Terrorism Act. go
Similarly, Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, former senator of Jamaat-e-Islami, faced the police while leading the ‘Save Gaza’ march in the federal capital, and several other persons including him were booked under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. go
These are some of the recent incidents in which the current government used ATA against political opponents allegedly for political reasons.
Terrorism cases have been filed against political leaders, workers and even ordinary citizens in meetings, demonstrations and other events in Pakistan.
To combat militancy and extremism, a law called the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA or Anti-Terrorism Act) was enacted in 1997, which provides for prosecution of those involved in ‘terrorism’. .
However, according to a research paper by Dr. Syed Kaleem Imam, who served as Inspector General of Police in Punjab and Sindh, this law was used for political purposes besides controlling militancy and extremism.
According to this paper published by the think tank Center for Governance Research (CGR) in Islamabad, the requirements of justice under the said law are not fulfilled and it is misused.
According to the research paper: ‘Due to this misuse, Pakistan has always asserted itself as a victim of terrorism, but in the world this law has become known in criminal extremism due to its use for other purposes.’
Anti-terrorism laws are being used for petty crimes and politically motivated cases, including human rights violations, the paper said.
The paper also discusses the history of extremism in Pakistan, according to which it became a major challenge for Pakistan after the 9/11 attacks, when Islamabad declared a US-led war on extremism.
After the war in Afghanistan against the former Soviet Union, the element of extremism in Pakistani society increased and during this time some extremist groups started to form.
Pakistan’s extremism laws were first governed by the Act of 1860, after which, according to the research paper, special courts were set up to hear terrorism-related cases between 1974 and 1997. But these courts did not prove to be very effective.
In 1997, the ATA was passed, establishing special courts and adopting a tougher approach to counter-terrorism. However, this law was also misused later.
This misuse, according to the research paper, became a challenge for the courts as well, when the laws were difficult to interpret correctly.
Justice Asif Saeed Khosa wrote in a court decision in 2019 that not every radical act falls under the category of terrorism, but according to the ATA only such an act will be terrorism, which creates fear in the people and threatens the state. .
According to the research paper, after this decision, there was a slight improvement in the application of the law, but the problems remained.
What do the statistics say?
According to the paper, 38 thousand 800 cases were registered under ATA from 1997 to 2019 and more than 187 arrests were made.
However, only 9,550 people were convicted during that time (even more were later overturned), while more than 28,000 accused were acquitted.
Many cases under this anti-terrorism law are still pending, raising questions about the credibility of Pakistan’s judicial and legal system.
Most cases under ATA were registered in Sindh province (14 thousand 74), out of which more than 19 thousand accused were arrested, only 2 thousand 795 were convicted and the rest were released.
Punjab province became the second largest province in terms of cases under ATA, where 11,203 cases were registered, in which 32,000 arrests were made, while 5,633 were sentenced.
More than 7,000 cases were registered under ATA in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while more than 12,000 arrests and 281 convictions were made.
More than 4,000 cases were registered under ATA in Balochistan, more than 5,000 arrests were made and only 646 people were convicted.
PTI leader and senior lawyer Mohammad Shoaib Shaheen shows a victory sign while appearing before an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad on September 10, 2024 (Farooq Naeem/AFP)
Cases were registered under ATA against 369 women in Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir and other provinces.
What do the experts say?
Barrister Ali Gohar Durrani is an advocate of the Peshawar High Court and has prosecuted various politically motivated cases under the ATA.
He said that ‘everyone knows that politically motivated cases are registered only for a specific purpose and the sole purpose behind it is to put a person behind the bars.’
According to barrister Gauhar Durrani: ‘Such use of ATA may have an apparent short-term benefit but in the long run it ends up being detrimental to the state as convictions are rarely meted out in such cases.’
He said that ‘due to the lack of evidence in such cases, the accused are released, while the judges are blamed for releasing the people involved in terrorism.’
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The senior lawyer further said that the acquittal of the accused in such cases has a negative impact on the Global Index of Judiciary ‘because the cases are registered under the ATA but the police cannot produce evidence in such cases.’
Barrister Gauhar said that the cases registered under the ATA related to the incidents of May 9 are still a challenge for the police. It is becoming difficult for them to present evidence of terrorism.’
Cases under the ATA against persons involved in political or petty crimes were registered in various governments, with experts believing that more accused were acquitted because the motive behind these cases was political.
In 2022, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf chief Imran Khan was booked under the Terrorism Act for threatening judges while addressing a rally in Islamabad’s F-Nine Park.
Later, the PTI government in Punjab booked Pakistan Muslim League-N leaders Mian Javed Latif and Maryam Aurangzeb under ATA for speaking against Imran Khan.
Violations of human rights
Some experts believe that using this law for political purposes leads to human rights violations.
Cases have been registered under the ATA in the past against participants in various political rallies and meetings, including students and youth.
A big challenge for the police
A senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police officer, who has served as police chief in various districts in addition to serving in the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), said on condition of anonymity that there is no doubt. ‘Cases under ATA on political grounds become a challenge for the police.’
He said that when the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act are included in the case, it is investigated by special terrorism officers, for which a lot of resources are used.
A senior police official said, “Courts also remove the provisions of the ATA from the cases filed under the ATA on political grounds.”
He further said that ATA is preferred to terrorism related provisions in other Pakistani laws as punishments are less.
Regarding the use of this law for political purposes, the official said that such cases defeat the main purpose of this act.
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#AntiTerrorism #Act #arrests #years #convictions
Protests, leading to concerns about the suppression of dissent and the right to freedom of expression.
The misuse of anti-terrorism laws raises significant concerns regarding the rule of law and civil liberties in Pakistan. Human rights organizations have criticized the government for employing these laws against political opponents and activists, often labeling them as terrorists for dissenting against state actions or policies.
Moreover, the broad and vague definitions within the anti-terrorism legislation allow for a wide range of interpretations, which can result in arbitrary arrests and detentions without due process. This contributes to a climate of fear among citizens, as many may refrain from expressing their opinions or participating in political movements due to the threat of legal repercussions.
As the international community closely monitors Pakistan’s approach to human rights and judicial processes, experts urge the government to revisit and reform its anti-terrorism laws to ensure they serve their intended purpose without encroaching upon basic human rights. A system that respects individual rights while effectively addressing genuine threats of terrorism is essential for Pakistan’s stability and democratic integrity.
while the challenges of terrorism in Pakistan are significant, the misuse of anti-terrorism laws for political ends undermines the very fabric of justice and contributes to a cycle of injustice and human rights abuses. There is an urgent need for a balanced approach that prioritizes the rule of law, accountability, and the protection of civil liberties.