Senate clears Anti-Terrorism Act amendments amid opposition uproar
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: After the National Assembly, the Senate on Tuesday also passed an amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997, which reinserted powers granted to law enforcement authorities (LEAs) and the armed forces to detain individuals for up to three months, amid the opposition’s uproar.
Last week, National Assembly had passed the amendment to the ATA.
Minister of State for Interior and Narcotics Control Muhammad Tallal Badar moved the Anti-terrorism Amendment Bill 2025 to amend the ATA in the House, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan.
“The government or, where the provisions of section 4 have been invoked, the armed forces or civil armed forces, as the case maybe, subject to the specific or general order of the government in this regard, for a period not exceeding three months and after recording reasons thereof, issue order for the preventative detention of any person,” the bill read.
This amendment was made to sub-section (1) of Section 11EEEE of the ATA.
Any person suspected of activities against national security or safety will be detained, according to the bill, adding that persons involved in target killing, kidnapping for ransom, extortion can be detained for three months.
The bill also added that it applies “against whom sufficient grounds exist of his having been so concerned, for purpose of inquiry”.
The bill available stated that the detention of a person arrested under Section 11EEEE, including detention exceeding three months, would be subject to the provisions of Article 10 (safeguards as to arrest and detention) of the Constitution.
If a detention order is issued by the army or civil forces, the investigation will be conducted by a joint investigation team, according to the bill.
“The inquiry will be conducted by no police officer below the rank of of Superintendent of Police, Intelligence agencies, civil armed forces, armed forces, and other law enforcing agencies,” the bill added.
JUI-F Senator Kamran Murtaza moved certain amendments to the bill but the House rejected them with majority of votes, APP added.
The house passed the bill through clause by clause reading.
The statement of objects and reasons of the bill said that the current security situation requires a robust response that goes beyond the existing legal framework.
“The erstwhile amendment of Section 11EEEE of the Act ibid are required to re-inserted to empower the government, Armed Forces and Civil Armed Forces with the necessary authority to detain individuals who pose a significant threat to national security,” it added.
This provision would allow for the preventive detention of suspects based on credible information or reasonable suspicion, thereby disrupting terrorist plots before they can be executed.
This will also provide law enforcement enforcement agencies with the legal backing to conduct more effective operations against terrorism. It would facilitate the use of joint interrogation teams (JITs), composed of members from various law enforcement and intelligence agencies to conduct comprehensive inquiries and gather actionable intelligence.
Earlier, responding to various points raised by lawmakers in the Senate, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said: “Currently the country is facing menace of terrorism and amendments proposed by Syed Naveed Qamar have already been incorporated to make it more effective.”
The bill has also already passed judicial scrutiny tests, he said adding that that a three years sun-set clause has also been added in it.
Tarar said that under Clause 2 of the amendment, the detainee would have presented before the Magistrate within 24 hours.
Barrister Syed Ali Zafar of PTI said that they were also against the menace of terrorism and wanted to curb it. However, he continued that “some of its clauses are against the law and constitution so the bill should be referred to the committee”.
Speaking on the occasion, PML-N Senator Irfanul Haque Siddiqui emphasised that no leniency should be shown toward terrorism.
