November 7, 2024
By Bilal Baseer Abbasi
ISLAMABAD
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed grave concern over the recently introduced Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2024 during a media conference at the National Press Club in Islamabad on November 7, 2024.
The Commission held that the proposed law will grant sweeping powers to the state to detain individuals for ‘inquiry’ for up to three months, merely based on ‘credible information’ or ‘reasonable suspicion’ without judicial oversight on the presumption that they pose a threat to national security or public order.
Given the recent upsurge in militancy and significant loss of life, the HRCP asserted that it recognizes the urgent need to address the country’s deteriorating security and law and order. As such, the Commission held that preventive detention is not the solution to this crisis, as such powers are liable to be abused.
The Commission further announced concern over the fact that the bill also empowers the armed forces to detain individuals on mere suspicion and without civilian or judicial oversight. This, the HRCP stated, is tantamount to legalizing the use of enforced disappearances and internment centres, with scant regard for the right to due process and fair trial as protected by Articles 10 and 10A of the Constitution.
Furthermore, the HRCP opined that the grounds do not meet the threshold for the derogation of rights under Article 4, Paragraph 1, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). As such, the amendment is open-ended rather than referring to temporary or exceptional circumstances.
The Commission also raised alarm over prolonged tribal and sectarian conflict in Kurram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which have led to scores of casualties and left hundreds injured. It also observed that the conflict has isolated the district from the rest of the province as a result of road blockades put in place to contain the situation, compounded by suspension of cellular services.
The HRCP expressed regret over these measures, which it believes have failed consistently to bring any relief, and have instead periodically cut off residents’ access to food, fuel and medical supplies. Schools have also had to close intermittently, while in several cases, the blockades have led to the deaths of sick children and elderly persons who did not receive medical attention in time.
The HRCP stated that despite a ceasefire between rival groups in June 2023 and again in October 2024, which saw the intervention of several jirgas comprising tribal elders as well as the authorities, Kurram remains wracked by violence.
HRCP estimated 49 people were killed and at least 190 were injured during the conflict in July this year. In September 2024, another 21 people were killed, according to press reports. At least 11 people were killed in October 2024, reportedly including women and children.
HRCP also expressed concern over reports of the alleged involvement of qrmed, trained fighters in the violence, and urged that this allegation be taken seriously and investigated. The fact that local rival groups clearly have access to heavy weaponry indicates that the state has been unable to control the flow of arms into this region.
The protracted trauma and violence to which Kurram’s residents have been subjected for over a year must not, the HRCP demanded, become the new normal, as it has already reached the proportions of a humanitarian crisis. It reiterated that the state would do well to heed the call of local ‘peace marches’ held by weary residents desperate for an end to the conflict.
HRCP asserted that it is the duty of the state to protect the right to life and security, to ensure that the perpetrators of violence are traced and held to account, and to involve all stakeholders in serious negotiations to bring an end to the conflict.