ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday gave his assent to a controversial bill that empowers security agencies to detain suspects of “terrorism” and other serious crimes for up to three months, his office confirmed, saying the move would help security agencies maintain law and order.
Pakistan’s upper house of parliament or Senate approved amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) bill earlier this month. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had defended the bill by saying it created a lawful framework for preventive detention that would strengthen counterterrorism operations.
Enforced disappearances have long been a contentious issue in Pakistan, particularly in its southwestern Balochistan province, which has been the site of a decades-old separatist insurgency. Families and rights groups there have often accused state institutions of arbitrary detentions and extrajudicial killings. Authorities deny the allegations, but the practice has remained a source of domestic and international criticism.
“President Asif Ali Zardari has assented to the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2025,” the president’s official account on X wrote.
“The law strengthens security agencies’ ability to counter terrorism, ensures transparency in detentions with a 3-year sunset clause, and introduces judicial oversight & safeguards.”
