One of the earliest versions was the Suppression of Terrorist Activities Ordinance

1975 enacted by Z.A. Bhutto, which remained in force in Sindh and Punjab until its
repeal in 1997. It remained the law in then NWFP and Balochistan until August 2001.

Another law giving wide-ranging powers to the army to curb violent activities was the
Pakistan Armed Forces (Acting in Aid of Civil Power) Ordinance, 1998, initially
applied to Sindh. Since this law was passed in the aftermath of the army operations in
Karachi, the ordinance granted broad judicial powers to the military. It also created
the new crime of “civil commotion”.

On Jan 30, 1999, the Pakistan Armed Forces Ordinance of 1998 was extended to the
entire country. It was also amended to enable absconders to be tried in absentia by any
military court. Many constitutional petitions challenging the validity of the ordinance
were filed, resulting in the landmark judgment Liaquat Hussain versus Federation of
Pakistan on Feb 22, 1999. The Supreme Court declared the ordinance
“unconstitutional, without legal authority, and with no legal effect”.

The Anti-Terrorism Act was signed on Aug 17, 1997. It created special anti-terrorism
courts (ATCs) as well as an anti-terrorism appellate tribunal which was to be a court
of appeal for verdicts handed down by ATCs. The 1997 act very broadly defined
“terrorism” as murder, malicious insult of religious beliefs, the use of derogatory
remarks with respect to holy personages, kidnapping and various statutes relating to
“robbery and dacoity”.

It was clear from the outset that the wide-ranging definition of terrorism would
become a widely abused device, and also cause crimes registered under the Anti-
Terrorism Act to go up, thus increasing the workload of the ATCs. The Supreme
Court later declared most of the provisions of the 1997 anti-terrorism act
unconstitutional.

The Oct 24, 1998 Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance attempted to respond to

most of the Supreme Court’s objections.
Special ATCs remained in place but the special appellate tribunals envisaged in the
act were disbanded. Restrictions were placed on the earlier act’s provisions regarding
trial in absentia to accord with regular legal procedures.

On Aug 27, 1999, amendment to the act authorised ATCs for the entire country.
Another two amendments in December that year extended the schedule of offences to
include several other provisions of Pakistan’s criminal code. It was envisaged in the
original act that investigations would be completed within one week, and ATC trials
would not take longer than seven working days; this principle faded away.

Another amendment on Aug 15, 2001 further expanded the ambit of terrorism. The
government was by now recognising that terrorist organisations were conspiring
against the state. Special provisions were introduced giving powers to the government
to proscribe an organisation if it had “reason to believe that the organisation is
concerned with terrorism”.

In order to meet the demands of the growing cases of terrorism, the number of anti-
terrorism courts was increased, and ATCs were also introduced in the then NWFP and
Balochistan. On Jan 30, 2002, another amendment, the Anti- Terrorism (Amendment)
Ordinance, 2002, was introduced, with the aim to speed up the judicial process. Yet
another amendment, Anti-Terrorism (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2002, gave
police the power to detain anyone listed on the government’s ‘terrorism list’ for up to
one year without filing specific criminal charges.

When the spectre of suicide bombers began to rear its head, further amendments to the
ATA of 1997 were made in November 2004. The maximum jail term for supporters of
militants was increased from 14 years to life imprisonment. Victims and their heirs
obtained the right to appeal against the acquittal of the accused by an anti-terrorist
court. Another amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Act authorised government officials
to seize the passport of anyone charged under the law. The Anti-Terrorism (Second
Amendment) Act on Jan 10, 2005 enhanced the minimum and maximum punishment
for acts of terrorism. It also enhanced the jurisdiction of the ATCs so that cases of
abduction and kidnapping for ransom, the use of explosives in places of worship and
court premises could be exclusively tried by them.

In the aftermath of the Lal Masjid incident, the definition of terrorism was expanded
by including attack on government premises, official installations, schools, hospitals
and other public property through an amendment in 2009.

Drawing lessons from the Swat insurgency, any groups or organisations (not
recognized by the law) that took the law into their own hands were also recognised as
perpetrators of acts of terror. To stop the trend of changing the nom de guerre of an
organisation, whence the same office-bearers make a new entity with a different
name, the government also got the power to ban the new organisation which ‘sprang’
from the old one, to freeze its accounts and to forbid its office-bearers from obtaining
a passport and travelling abroad..

Preventive detention was also introduced by which a person could be kept in detention
for 90 days without this being challenged in court. To keep the accused in custody the
right of bail was withdrawn.

Thus, the history of counter-terrorism legislation is a long one, but a lot remains to be
done. The high acquittal rate of ATCs also gets a bad press. In order to rectify such
lacunae, a bill was proposed in 2010. This bill has not yet been passed, even though
the National Assembly’s approval for the Fair Trial Bill is a step in the right direction.
Anti-terrorism legislation may see more changes before the desired results are
obtained.

YUDHSIDUSDJFOSDFUOFUOFIUOFOIFIUWEIUY
EWOID
For the last 16 years, Pakistan has been fighting the world’s most
notorious terrorist groups. Thousands of innocent Pakistanis have lost
their lives in the country’s fight against terrorist outfits such as al
Qaeda, TTP and Da’ish. In recent times, the terrorist organisation
Jamaatul Ahrar (JuA), recently put under sanctions by the UN Security
Council (UNSC), has targeted minorities, civilians and government
officials inside Pakistan. In the wake of recent statements made by the
US President Donald Trump accusing Pakistan of not doing enough, it
is imperative to comprehend the nature of terrorism and Pakistan’s
intensive response to it.

Last year, on August 9th, a suicide bombing targeting lawyers killed 70

and injured 26 people in Civil Hospital, Quetta. The attack which left
many children orphaned and families in grief was claimed by none
other than the notorious JuA and its leader Abdul Wali, also known as
Omar Khorasani. This terrorist organisation has specifically been
targeting children, minorities, schools, colleges, hospitals and courts
inside Pakistan.

The JuA has claimed responsibility for several other deadly attacks in
the country. In 2015, it attacked worshippers in a Youhanabad church
in Lahore. In 2016 it targeted innocent children on Easter by bombing
the Children’s Park Lahore and also bombed district courts in
Shabqadar and Charsadda. The twin bombings in Mohmand Agency on
Nov 7th2014 killing six and the suicide bombing on Nov 2 nd killing 60
people and injuring more than 100 was also claimed by the JuA. Many
of its members, now under arrest, have owned up to many subversive
activities inside Pakistan.

The mastermind of these attacks is Khorasani — a blacksmith from Fata

who joined the TTP back in 2007 and later formed a splinter group. In
August 2014 his organisation along with Ahrarul Hind merged to form
JuA. It operated from Mohmand Agency of Fata where Khorasani
became the first ‘Amir’ of the terrorist organisation.
The military operation Zarb-e-Azb was launched to eliminate the
terrorists and their hideouts. As a result, the JuA was thrown out of
Fata only to be relocated in Lal Pur, Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.
Since then, it has been planning terrorist attacks and operating from
Afghanistan.

To counter the JuA and other terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, three
substantial steps have been taken. One, Pakistan army has launched
several military operations. Two, the Pakistani officials have shared the
information on terrorist organisations and their safe havens inside
Afghanistan with the Afghan authorities. Three, because of Pakistan’s
concerted efforts the UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on
JuA.

Military operations such as Zarb-e-Azb and Raddul Fasaad have

considerably brought down the terrorist attacks and the ability of the
terrorists to attack Pakistanis. According to the annual security report
of Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, terror incidents have reduced
from 2,555 in 2013 to 749 in 2016, from thousands to hundreds. The
number of injured from 6,932 in 2013 to 1,956 in 2016 and the
causalities from 4,725 in 2013 to 1,887 in 2016. The ongoing Khyber-4
Operation has further tightened the grip on the terrorists operating
near the Afghanistan border.

These current developments in Pakistan’s fight against terrorism are

benchmarks for not just regional countries but for the international
community as well. While Pakistan is successfully fighting the terrorists
on its soil, it also expects the US, Nato and Afghan forces to do the same
in Afghanistan. Would the Ghani administration take action against the
fleeing terrorists inside Afghanistan? Would Nato and US forces
eliminate the hideouts of terrorists groups who have targeted innocent
Pakistanis? It is important not just for Pakistan but for other countries
in the region as well to fight the common foe.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17 th, 2017.

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EYQEQEUQOEIUQEIOQEOQIE
PAKISTAN is fighting war against terrorism for the last
fourteen years, for which the nation has rendered a huge
cost in human and economic terms, which is more than
any other country in the world. It suffered more than
60000 causalities of civilian and armed forces personnel
and economic losses worth US$ 108 billion so far.
Moreover, terrorism has adversely affected social fabric of
Pakistan. Despite these sacrifices, menace of terrorism has
subsided but not completely eliminated. Barbaric attack on
Army Public School (APS), Peshawar, by TTP on
December 16, 2014 brought nation to a watershed moment
in its long fight against terrorism.
The death of about 147 school children and teachers shook
the conscience of the nation. This incident forced the
political leadership to review their previous actions and
strategies; and identify the loopholes and gaps in their
counter terrorism measures that were exploited by
terrorists to launch attacks against the innocent people.
The APS tragedy united all political parties and military
leadership of the country to unanimously condemn the
APS attack and make a National Action Plan (NAP) to
eradicate terrorism. Thus, a powerful national narrative
emerged: “A line has been drawn. On one side are the
coward terrorists and on the other stands the whole
nation,” stated Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. In his
televised speech on December 24, 2014, he outlined 20-
point NAP where he promised to eradicate the mindset of
terrorism by defeating extremism and sectarianism in the
country. The 20 points of NAP appeared as a national
narrative against terrorism and all forms of extremism.
After adoption of the NAP by All Parties Conference and
its subsequent implementation, which is being overseen by
the apex committees of the provinces, major
improvements have been witnessed in overall security
situation of country.
As outlined in the NAP, religious extremism is on top of
the list considering that terrorism is a consequence of
religious extremism. One of its kinds is sectarianism,
which not only harvests hate and intolerance in society but
also causes sectarian strife and terrorism in the country.
Accordingly, special measures have been taken in 20-
points of the NAP to control sectarianism. It includes
banning of sectarian organizations under new names,
countering hate speech and dissemination of extremist
material, ban on glorification of terrorism and terrorist
organizations through print and electronic media and
punishment on the wrong usage of loudspeakers.
Moreover, measures to choke internal and foreign funding
and freezing their accounts are also included in the NAP.
The central bank has frozen almostRs.1 billion of 126
accounts linked to proscribed groups. Law-enforcement
agencies have also recovered Rs.251.2 million being
transferred through ‘Hawala’. In addition, security
agencies have arrested a number of culprits, who are
involved in money laundering. Parallel to this, the
National Assembly passed an Anti-Money Laundering
(Amendment) Bill, 2015 that would help the government
to ensure that finances and property involved in money
laundering are effectively detected, investigated and
prosecuted. Another measure taken against terrorism is
regarding supervision of madaris and their registration.
The state-level registration and supervision of all madaris
is now indispensable to curb the anti-state activities. This
action is bound to cause general satisfaction, reflecting
overall national narrative. The dismantling of terrorists’
communication system such as internet and social media
is an important factor in war against terrorism. The federal
government has ordered the Ministry of Information
&Technology to remove all websites of terrorist
organizations so that the miscreants are deprived the
means to spread violent and poisonous propaganda.
Previously, there was a perception that frontier region of
Pakistan was the sole epicentre of terrorism. Other parts of
the country where terrorist network were potentially
established were, by and large, ignored in the counter
terrorism strategy. Now other suspected areas including
urban belts of the country are also included in the NAP. It
was decided that Karachi operation, which had started in
September 2013 under the supervision of Police and
Rangers was reinforced with special powers such as
investigating powers, etc. Likewise, to control security
situation in Balochistan, not only enough resources and
powers have been allocated to Provincial Govt but its
capacity-building is also being enhanced.
Priority is now given in the award and execution of
sentences to terrorists. It was decided that sentences
awarded by judiciary to criminals found guilty in terrorist
cases, should be immediately executed, besides
establishing military courts for rapid trials. In this regard,
a total of 11 military courts were established and 142 cases
referred to them, out of which 55 cases have been decided,
87 cases are in process, besides convicting 31 hardcore
terrorists. The centuries-old socio-economic and political
structures of frontier region and insurgency in Afghanistan
have been the prime factors in making the FATA an
epicentre of terrorism. Some individuals of the community
became involved in acts of terrorism and other criminal
activities. They got opportunities to promote their terrorist
activities due to lack of an effective legal system.
Therefore, the NAP included the development in the
region on priority bases and equal rights and opportunities
be granted to the people to bring them at par with others
in the rest of the country.
It is evident that since the initiation of NAP, there has
been a decline in violence in the country. The year 2015
witnessed the lowest number of terror attacks since 2007.
Phenomenal successes have been achieved after the launch
of Operation Zarb-i-Azb. Terrorists’ backbone has been
broken, dismantling their main infrastructure and
disrupting their nexus with sleeper cells. According to
ISPR, 3,400 terrorists including 183 hardcore were killed,
837 hideouts destroyed, and 21,193terrorist were arrested.
In this context about 488 officers and men of Pak Army,
FC and Rangers sacrificed their lives and 1914 were
injured in the operation. Successes in this operation have
created space for decisive surge against terrorists in urban
areas as well.
Whereas, there are commendable achievements in
implementing the NAP, there are some shortcomings as
well. Still, more needs to be done. The reality of the
situation is that this battle will require more than just
hangings, killings, blocking finances and illegal mobile
SIMSas well as banning public hate speeches. These
factors are enablers but not producers of terrorist violence.
This is a mindset that has become embedded in our society
due to decades of inaction. Unless primary causes such as
poverty, unemployment and illiteracy are addressed,
everlasting results could not be achieved.
—The writer works at Islamabad Policy Research Institute,
a think-tank based in Islamabad.