Event Summary
On 13 August 2025, Pakistan’s National Assembly passed amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, restoring preventive detention powers for security agencies. The Senate approved the amendments on 19 August, 2025, and on 31 August, 2025 President Asif Ali Zardari signed them into law.
The amendments allow the police, armed forces, and civil armed forces to detain individuals suspected of terrorism or serious offenses for up to three months on the basis of “reasonable suspicion” or “credible information.” While the law requires detainees to be presented before a magistrate within 24 hours, custody of up to 90 days is permitted for investigation under Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) composed of police and intelligence agencies. A three-year “sunset clause” means the preventive detention powers will lapse unless renewed by Parliament.
The government has argued that by requiring magistrate review, the framework will reduce the practice of enforced disappearances. However, civil society groups and opposition parties warn it risks normalizing arbitrary detention and eroding due process. Critics highlight that vague standards like “reasonable suspicion” undermine constitutional guarantees of liberty and fair trial, and could be weaponized against political opponents, journalists, and human rights defenders. In conflict-affected regions such as Balochistan, the law may legitimize special detention centres and entrench practices that are unlawful under international human rights law.
These developments not only restrict freedoms of expression, association, and assembly, but also intimidate civic actors, and erode judicial safeguards, posing a serious threat to the enabling environment for civil society. The amendments change the Anti-Terrorism Act nationwide, giving security agencies legal cover for preventive detention across Pakistan. While risks are systemic, they may disproportionately impact conflict-affected regions such as Balochistan.