ISLAMABAD: After much debate in and outside parliament and strong opposition by certain political parties and human rights groups, the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance-2014 was finally signed into law on Friday by President Mamnoon Hussain.

The new law will remain in force for two years and provides sweeping powers to law enforcement agencies and the military to deal with outlaws and terrorists.

Sarfaraz Ahmed, a spokesperson for the Presidency, told Dawn: “The president signed the bill last night and sent it to the Prime Minister’s Office (on Friday).”

Opposition parties, human rights activists still unhappy with lack of checks, balances

The opposition’s primary fears are that the law can be exploited and turned against innocent people and even members of political parties.

However, national and international human rights watchdogs fear that this could pave the way for further rights violations in the country. Many fear that the law could be misused by police and security agencies to provide cover for illegal detentions and victimisation.

Some security experts also pointed out loopholes in the act, but also commended several clauses, including one that defines – for the first time – an ‘enemy alien’. Others termed it a “law of war”, saying that the act was tailored to the needs of a country that is at war.

The government-allied Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl had rejected the ordinance and subsequent amendments outright, saying that various clauses in it were against the fundamental rights of citizens as enshrined in the Constitution.

Talking to Dawn, Tariq Khosa, a former police inspector general and an ex-director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), said that the law was a need of the hour, but it could be misused by security personnel. “The nation is in a state of war and such a law is required to deal with terrorists. But there must be a balance between the law of war and due process,” he said.

He said the judiciary’s role became even more essential and more responsibility fell on the courts as the law’s victims would move the courts and the courts would have to deal with them sagaciously.

In a recent article, prominent human rights activist and senior journalist I.A. Rehman said: “The final version of the PPO does not meet our concerns regarding the possibility of abuse by targeting political dissidents, the retrospective application of the law to legitimise illegal detentions (especially in Balochistan), and legitimisation of safe house.”

Senator Farhatullah Babar of the Pakistan People’s Party rejected the notion that advanced democracies had also enacted tough laws to fight hardened criminals. “In such states, powers are scrupulously balanced with accountability and oversight. But in Pakistan, law enforcers resist questioning and accountability.”

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), an international legal body, also voiced fears that the new law would only aggravate the situation of human rights in the country.

The ICJ’s Asia Director Sam Zarifi, told Dawn the new law gave military and law enforcement authorities sweeping powers in contravention of Pakistan’s international legal obligations. The law also envisions the creation of special courts that violate the individual’s right to a fair trial.

“Pakistan faces a genuine threat from militant groups engaging in acts of terrorism, and the Pakistan government has an obligation to protect all people from such attacks,” he said. “Human rights law gives governments reasonable flexibility to combat terrorism, without contravening human rights obligations, and claims of ‘threats to national security’ can never be used as a justification for the practice of secret detentions, enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment and impunity for violations of human rights.”

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2014