LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed concern over moves to revive the Protection of Pakistan Act (PoPA).
In a statement issued on Friday, the commission said: “The HRCP notices with great alarm the reports of sending a summary to the prime minister, seeking revival of the Protection of Pakistan Act (PoPA).
“The many concerns of the civil society, with respect to the PoPA undermining basic human rights, have only grown over time. The PoPA empowers the security agencies to detain accused in prolonged custody without adequate safeguards, which has been a major concern, especially in view of the law enforcement and security agencies’ track record of treatment of detainees,” the commission said.
“The PoPA shifted the burden of proof to the accused and violated due process rights, including the right to a fair trial, which had been acknowledged by the constitution as a fundamental right.”
It added, “At the time of PoPA’s approval, the government assured the parliament that it would be used only against jet black terrorists. That, however, was not the case and slum dwellers of Islamabad and protesting peasants in Okara were some of the examples of the ordinary citizens against whom the law was invoked.”
A number of political parties are said to be wary of PoPA revival reportedly over concerns that the broad powers for law enforcement agencies under the law have been used to target political workers.
“In 2014, many opposition political parties were apprehensive of the draconian nature of the law and the so-called sunset clause of two years was inserted to reassure them that this extraordinary legislation would remain in existence only for a short period,” the commission maintained.
“The special courts under this law have remained largely non-functional for considerable time and failed to prosecute those accused of committing terrorist offences.”
The HRCP calls upon the government to drop the idea of reviving the law and instead rely on measures that do not violate the fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution.
“We also demand that the deliberations on the future of the PoPA must not be held behind closed doors and the concerns from all stakeholders must be considered and addressed,” the statement concluded.
Pertinent to mention here that the PoPA was expired on July 15, and the government were reportedly seeking to revive the act.
