President Zardari gives assent to anti-terrorism amendment bill

• Anti-terrorism bill was passed by NA, Senate this month.
• Law empowers LEAs to detain individuals up to 3 months
• "Law to ensure transparency, accountability in detentions".
  

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday accorded his assent to the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2025, according to a statement issued by the President’s House.

The bill, which seeks to improve counterterrorism efforts while ensuring legal oversight and safeguards, was passed by both the lower and upper houses of parliament — the National Assembly and the Senate — this month.

“The law is designed to ensure transparency and accountability in detentions, with a built-in three-year sunset clause to limit its duration,” it said.

"The law includes judicial oversight and safeguards to provide recourse against misuse and abuse of power, unlike past arbitrary practices,” the statement read.

“The amendment aimed to improve counter-terrorism efforts while ensuring legal oversight and safeguards… This is an important step in addressing Pakistan’s ongoing security challenges," it further stated.

The statement of objects and reasons, tabled during the bill's passage in Parliament, noted that the prevailing security challenges in the country demanded a “robust response beyond the scope of existing laws.”

This provision would allow for the preventative detention of suspects based on credible information or reasonable suspicion, thereby disrupting terrorist plots before they can be executed, the statement said.

This will also provide LEAs with the legal backing to conduct more effective operations against terrorism. It would facilitate the use of Joint Interrogation Teams (JITs), composed of members from various law enforcement and intelligence agencies, to conduct comprehensive inquiries and gather actionable intelligence, it added.

The bill states that any individual suspected of activities threatening national security or public safety may be detained. It further allows for the detention of individuals involved in target killings, kidnapping for ransom, or extortion for a period of up to three months.