Anti-Terrorism Bill 2010

Terrorism, as a menace has plagued Pakistan for more than a decade and the state has repeatedly made attempts to curb it through stringent actions and policies. The Anti-Terrorism Bill 2010 constitutes Pakistan’s latest endeavour at restricting terrorist activities and it proposes significant amendments to the original anti-terrorism legislation, the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 1997.

Pre-1997, Pakistan had been suffering from considerable domestic and sectarian violence. The existing legal system had been unable to control such violence and the country was in urgent need of a comprehensive anti-terrorism regime. The ATA 1997, aimed to act as a deterrent for would-be terrorists not only by offering a wide definition of terrorism, but also by providing a speedy system of dealing with terrorism cases through the creation of special anti-terrorism courts. However, the ATA 1997 turned out to be too rigid and was subjected to a great deal of criticism. Amnesty International believed it to be seriously flawed and the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the case of Mehram Ali versus Federation of Pakistan (1998) declared it to be unconstitutional, as a result of which an amendment to the ATA 1997 became necessary.

The 2010 Bill itself seeks significant amendments in 25 sections of the ATA 1997 and even though it aims to cure the deficiencies present in the current anti-terrorism law, it seems to be flawed. If the bill is promulgated, it will definitely result in serious human rights violations.

Under the proposed bill, the federal government may authorise any person to intercept calls and messages, and trace calls through any telecommunication system. This provision significantly breaches a fundamental human right, that is, the right to privacy.

Article 12 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) declares that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy or correspondence. This right is similarly protected under Article 17 of the 1976 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 8 of the 1953 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Historically, there have been instances where such laws have been abused; therefore, additional safeguards will have to be provided in order for this legislation to be consistent with international law.


(2010-10-17/nation.com.pk)