September 11; PILDAT Dialogue Group on Civil-Military Relations has demanded that the Government must swiftly introduce an effective Anti-terrorism law in the country. The Group asked that an amended law must maintain the balance between human rights, individual liberty and effectively curbing terrorism in Pakistan. The Group has asked that, following the practice in UK, the Parliament must appoint an independent reviewer that can periodically study that implementation of an amended law fulfils the requirements of this balance.

The Group welcomed the reported approval of a revised Anti-Terrorism law by the Federal Cabinet last week demanding that these must be placed before the Parliament at the earliest. The Group also urged the Parliament that it must fulfil the requirements of scrutiny of theses amended laws as a priority and pass the laws that can effectively put in place stringent measures to tackle terrorism. The Group regretted that earlier attempts by the Government to amend the existing terrorism laws have been slow and ineffective as the Anti-terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2010, proposing 25 amendments in the existing Anti-terrorism Act, 1997, remained pending with the Parliament for over 2 years. The Group underscored that owing to the crucial challenge of terrorism facing Pakistan, it is imperative that people�s elected representatives rise to the challenge of effectively containing and thwarting it first through passing effective anti-terrorism laws and then effective oversight on implementation of these laws.

The Group questioned the arrival of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances in Pakistan. The Dialogue Group demanded that the Government must immediately disclose the reason behind reported invitation of the Government to the Group to visit Pakistan. The Group expressed its concern on the presence of the UN Working Group to look into a domestic issue of Pakistan and asked the Government to make public the terms of reference of the UN Working Group.

The Dialogue Group met here today to discuss various developments impacting civil-military relations in Pakistan. The proceedings began with the Group members paying tribute to Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. The Group members believed that in order to make Pakistan follow the vision of Quid-e-Azam, citizens need to create an alternate discourse based on equal citizenship and social justice.

The Group also discussed and approved recommendations for leadership of major political parties on improving Civil-Military Relations. The Group also discussed the need and possible content of a legislation governing the legal remit of the Intelligence Services in Pakistan. The Group, which was briefed on the PILDAT Study Visit to the UK held in July, commended the initiative and said that the learning from the visit offers useful insight that can serve reform proposals for Pakistan on democratic oversight on defence and national security.

With Dr. Pervez Hassan, Senior Advocate Supreme Court in the chair, members of the Group who joined the meeting included Mr. Omar Khan Afridi, Former Federal Minister, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Abdul Qadir Baloch, MNA, (NA 271 Kharan-cum-Panjgur, PML N), former Governor Balochistan, Lt. Gen (Retd.) Arif Bangash, Former Governor KP, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Moinuddin Haider, Former Governor Sindh, Mr. Shahid Hamid, Former Governor Punjab, Vice Admiral (Retd) Khalid Mir, Former Ambassador, Mr. Rustam Shah Mohmand, Former Chief Secretary, Dr. Hasan Askari Rizvi, Defence and Political Analyst, Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, Executive Director PILDAT and Ms. Aasiya Riaz, Joint Director PILDAT.