Govt comes up with tougher anti-terror law
By Raja Asghar
ISLAMABAD: The government brought a tougher anti-terror law to parliament on Tuesday in an urgent response to a new wave of violence in the country, with Interior Minister Rehman Malik showing both an iron fist and an olive branch to Baloch insurgents.
The minister, who introduced the Anti-terrorism (Amendment) Bill — based largely on a lapsed presidential ordinance — in the Senate, wanted the upper house to pass it immediately so the government could use its stringent provisions he called “voice of the people of Pakistan” at the earliest, but later agreed to give a house standing committee up to August 2 to study the draft and come up with its report.
The opposition and some government allies had sought time to study the implications of 25 amendments proposed in the Anti-terrorism Act of 1997 and compare them with the original document, before the leader of the house Nayyar Hussain Bokhari came with a compromise date of August 2, although Deputy Chairman Jan Mohammad Jamali, who was chairing the proceedings, had at one point agreed to set an earlier deadline of Friday while proposing that the concerned standing committee also consult some prominent legal figures of different parties in the house.
The bill needs to be passed also by the National Assembly — expected to begin its next session on August 9 — and assented to by President Asif Ali Zardari to become law, which will revive the lapsed decree’s provisions such as empowering the government to detain suspects for up to 90 days which will not be challenged before any court, seize FM radio stations glorifying terrorists or terrorist activities, and ban groups formed with new names linked to proscribed organisations, barring courts to grant bail to persons accused of offences punishable with death or imprisonment exceeding 10 years, and placing the burden of proof of innocence on the accused regarding possession of explosive substances, involvement in an offence of terrorism in an area where armed forces are deployed, and about properties disproportionate to the known income of a convict.
But the interior minister said “best of the best legal experts” had given their input for the draft and assured the house it would not be misused for political victimisation. The bill came only a day after several senators from both the opposition and government benches called for a more serious approach to counter terrorism at the opening of the house session, with the ruling PPP’s Raza Rabbani calling for more stringent laws with care not to compromise human rights.
A statement of objects and reasons with the new bill said: “Growing menace of terrorism and attacks on armed forces, civil armed forces, law-enforcement agencies, civil and government offices and installations have adversely affected the security situation.
“The extra-ordinary circumstances demand more stringent laws to curb the terrorist violence and to punish those found involved with a view to creating adequate deterrence.”
The Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance 2010 had lapsed in early June after completing its constitutional life as it could not be re-promulgated a second time without approval of the National Assembly as a consequence of the Eighteenth (Constitution) Amendment.
The minister, in a speech later to wind up a debate on recent incidents of violence — like the assassination of a Baloch politician, former senator Habib Jalib Baloch and the weekend murder of the only son of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain — said the government would “leave no stone unturned” to defeat those “bleeding” Pakistan in the Malakand division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fata and Balochistan.
But he devoted most of his speech — before the house was adjourned until 4.30pm on Wednesday — to separatist Baloch insurgents who, he said, had formed so-called armies and wanted to break up Pakistan with foreign help he promised to disclose in in-camera briefings.
Against them, he said, “Pakistani law-enforcement agencies have a right to react”, though he added: “The forces have been asked not to react (yet).”
But he said there could be no compromise with the insurgents unless they give up their secessionist designs and assured the house they would be defeated like Taliban militants in Malakand. “I offer them to let us join and hoist and salute the Pakistan flag … and we will give them whatever they demand,” the minister said rhetorically. “They will get nothing by opposing Pakistan.”
Mr Malik said the insurgents were targeting not only security forces, settlers from other parts of Pakistan like Punjab and Sindh but also “pro-Pakistan Balochis like Mr Jalib and activist Maula Bakhsh Dashti.
He blamed about 200 killings on insurgents from January to July 20, including three army officers, 21 Frontier Corps personnel, 27 police, 26 Punjabis, 21 Pakhtuns, 12 Sindhis and 112 others.
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