NEW YORK, Nov 15: The Pakistan government should immediately withdraw amendments to the Army Act which give wide-ranging powers to the military, including the power to arrest, detain and try any civilian, the Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.

“The military is Pakistan’s principal human rights abuser and the use of torture by its intelligence agencies is widespread and well-documented,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at the HRW. “Granting it legal authority to detain, interrogate and try its opponents amounts to throwing them to the lions and providing license for repression and torture.”

“This change in the law is a brazen attempt by the Pakistani military to avoid accountability for its widespread abuses,” said Adams. “By backdating the legal change, Musharraf is trying to conveniently kill cases pending before the Supreme Court concerning the ‘disappearances’ and torture of hundreds of his opponents.”

The Human Rights Watch urged Pakistan to restore its legitimate judiciary headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and to work toward meeting internationally accepted fair trial standards.

The HRW reiterated its call for the release of all detainees.