ISLAMABAD: Amidst strong opposition, the Senate, Tuesday, passed three government bills including the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2025, that allows detention of suspects at the hands of law enforcement agencies for more than three months.
On the last day of the 353rd session, State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry presented the bill in the House that met strong opposition.
Last week, the bill was passed by the National Assembly where it faced strong opposition too.
In the Senate meeting, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Parliamentary Leader Ali Zafar criticised the powers given to the law enforcement agencies to detain any suspect without presenting them in a court of law for three months.
“The country is burning in the fire of terrorism,” responded Law Minister Azam Tarar, defending the bill, saying it aimed at countering terrorism.
Kamran Murtaza from Jamiat Uelma-e-Islam Fazal (JUI-F) criticised the treasury side for presenting the bill for passage without having it referred to the relevant committee first.
“Heavens would not have fallen had this bill been referred to the committee,” he said.
The bill was finally passed by the House by majority vote following which the PTI staged a walkout from the House in protest.
The Section 3(a)(1) of the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2025 provides that the government or— the armed forces or civil armed forces - for a period not exceeding three months - issue an order for the preventative detention of any person who has been concerned in “any offence under this Act relating to the security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, or public order relating to target killing, kidnapping for ransom, and extortion, bhatta, or the maintenance of supplies or services, or against whom a reasonable complaint has been made or credible information has been received, or a reasonable suspicion exists of his having been so concerned, for purpose of inquiry: Provided that the detention of such person, including detention for a further period after three months, shall be subject to the provision of Article l0 of the Constitution.”
The Section 3(b) of the bill says, “Provided that where the detention order has been issued by the armed forces or civil armed forces under Sub-section (1), the inquiry shall be conducted by a joint investigation team (JIT) comprising of a police officer not below the rank of superintendent of police, intelligence agencies, civil armed forces, armed forces, and other law enforcing agencies.”
The Section 3(c) of this bill says that Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2025 shall remain in force for a period of three years from its commencement.
Apart from Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Act, 2025, the other two bills passed by the House were Petroleum (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and Pakistan Land Port Authority Bill, 2025.
The Petroleum (Amendment) Bill, 2025 aims at introducing “IT-based tracking of petroleum products, to curb the smuggling of petroleum products.”
The Pakistan Land Port Authority Bill, 2025 aims to “establish a land port authority to provide and administer an integrated system of facilities for cross-border movement of goods and passengers at land ports in Pakistan and to make provision for its operation, management, development of land port and matters connected therewith and ancillary matter.”
Through resolutions, the Senate extended the Capital Development Authority Amendment Ordinance 2025 and the National Agri-Trade and Food Safety Authority Ordinance, 2025 for 120 days.
Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry, in a written reply shared in the Senate Question House, said that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) dismissed its 51 employees in the last three years for “suspected collusion with human smugglers.”
The Senate is prorogued.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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