(18th March 2013)
Monitoring needed: Antiterrorism Act amendment
RUSHED through by the government during its last few days in power, a bill amending the Antiterrorism Act, 1997 has been passed without much substantive debate. The ATA has long been criticised for not rising up to the particular challenges terrorism now poses for Pakistan, and some of its gaps are well known, so on balance it is a good thing that at least some changes have been made. But even though they were clipped to some extent as the bill made its way through parliament, the increased powers now given to law-enforcement authorities will need to be monitored closely to make sure they aren’t abused.
The government will now, for example, be able to order detention of a person for 30 days even before a case has been registered, and this can be extended to 90 days with an antiterrorism court’s permission. Once a case has been registered suspects can be held in police remand for three months rather than one. The burden of proof will fall on anyone found with explosive material without legal justification, and constraints on foreign travel, bank loans and bearing arms have been specified for members of banned organisations who continue the organisation’s activities. Along with the Fair Trial Act, which will allow intercepted communication to be submitted as evidence, and a terrorism financing amendment to the ATA passed in February, these and other changes should provide law-enforcement authorities with much more room to successfully prosecute terrorists. But they are also highly susceptible to abuse, and it now falls to the judiciary to keep a close watch on their implementation.
Despite the changes, a fundamental problem with the ATA remains. The amendment does provide more specific definitions of terrorism. But it doesn’t quite do away with one of the main problems of the law — it covers just about any crime involving violence, being applicable, for example, to actions ranging from terrorist attacks on military installations to extortion, murders carried out because of personal disputes or firing used as intimidation to close down shops. The vast majority of cases brought before ATCs do not have to do with terrorism per se, and simply bog down these special courts. Which goes back to an even more fundamental problem: without a national counterterrorism strategy in place, one underpinned by a clear definition of the problem and the enemy, no amount of legislation or law enforcement will work.
Consent is key: UN on drone strikes
THE use of drones to target combatants in the north-west has for years generated strong controversy in Pakistan. Not only are drone attacks seen as violating the country’s territorial sovereignty, it has also been observed that in several ways they do more harm than good. There is room, therefore, to voice regret that in the United States, the debate over their legality and efficacy has only gained widespread attention after questions started being asked about the issue of American civilians being targeted by drones. Now, with UN Special Rapporteur Ben Emmerson concluding on Friday that drone strikes violate Pakistan’s sovereignty, there seems to be a strong argument for bringing the drone programme in Pakistan — as it is currently carried out — to a halt. Having been in the country to investigate the effect on civilians of drone strikes and other forms of targeted killings in the context of counterterrorism operations, he said that the drone war “involves the use of force on the territory of another state without its consent and therefore a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty”.
The key element here is that of consent. In earlier years, there was the general perception that Pakistan was involved in the programme and that it was being conducted with the tacit, even if not active, consent of domestic authorities. Indeed, in 2010 the then prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, had stated that the US had been allowed to use drones for reconnaissance during the Musharraf years. In recent times, though, Pakistani cooperation and consent no longer seems to be a feature of the programme.
Unless this is forthcoming — and unless the US seeks it — in the wake of Mr Emmerson’s findings, the strikes need to cease. Not only is there the matter of the deaths of non-combatant civilians, in the face of stony silence from domestic authorities, drone attacks fuel public anger. However, given that the technology has proved useful in several cases, especially in areas where the penetration of the military is unavoidably low, a more productive way forward might be coordination and cooperation.
Instructive lessons: MNAs’ performance
THE achievements and failures of the National Assembly that has just completed its tenure have been discussed in these columns. However, figures released on Friday by the non-governmental Free and Fair Election Network regarding the performance of MNAs offer some more insights that should help both parties and voters to make informed choices in the next elections. According to Fafen, 134 bills were passed during the five-year life of the NA, with 81 of these becoming acts. This is a significant improvement over the performance of the previous assembly, which only passed 51 bills. It is also welcome that an increased number of private members’ bills (18) was passed, some concerning important issues that had long been in legislative limbo. Female lawmakers also deserve kudos as they were the most active during question hour, asking over half of the 16,056 questions sent to the government.
Fafen also points out, though, that 23 lawmakers did not take part in any legislative business. These include both male and female MNAs from the opposition as well as the treasury benches. While awarding tickets for the elections, parties need to consider candidates’ performance within the house, as getting elected and not participating in the lawmaking process reinforces the image that politicians run for office only to enjoy the perks of power. Lack of quorum also remained an issue throughout the NA’s life, as both sides of the aisle rarely chose to point out this chronic problem. In addition, there was some disconnect between the political parties and their parliamentary wings, which needs to be addressed to facilitate smoother lawmaking. All these issues need to be considered by the parties’ secretariats as well as those hopeful of getting elected.