Counter-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2024: Authorities Granted Power to Detain Individuals for Up to 3 Months
Islamabad (Web News)
Former Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani has stated that introducing the Counter-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2024 in the National Assembly violates fundamental rights. Under this bill, the government and civil armed forces will be granted the authority to detain individuals for up to three months. In a statement on Sunday, Rabbani asserted that this bill violates the fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution. He pointed out the increase in terrorist activities and called on the government to explain why it has failed to address this issue.
He demanded a detailed briefing on counter-terrorism efforts in a parliamentary in-camera session. Rabbani questioned whether the amendments made to the Counter-Terrorism Act in 2014 improved investigations and prosecutions or increased conviction rates in counter-terrorism courts. He also asked if those amendments had reduced the number of missing persons.
Moreover, he stated that the proposed new amendment gives the government and armed forces the power to detain an individual for 90 days, which can be extended for an additional three months. This, he argued, violates Article 10 of the Constitution. According to Rabbani, the language used in the amendment’s Section 11 is vague and can be interpreted in various ways, making the term “national interest” ambiguous and potentially applicable for purposes beyond the arrest of terrorists. He emphasized that the Counter-Terrorism Act has been misused in the past.