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Army Act amendment to allow military trial of ‘terrorists’

* AG says new Ord similar to US Patriot Act

Daily Times Monitor

LAHORE: The government has amended the Army Act of 1952 and President General Pervez Musharraf is likely to issue an ordinance allowing military courts to prosecute terrorists and any civilians suspected of terrorist or subversive activity on Friday, reported Geo News.

It would also allow intelligence agencies to apprehend any person suspected of terrorism, the channel added.

Attorney General Malik Muhammad Qayyum told the channel that some new clauses and offences were being added to the existing Army Act to provide legal cover to law enforcement agencies. He said the ordinance would allow law enforcement agencies to legally arrest and prosecute alleged terrorists without an arrest warrant.

Patriot Act: Qayyum said the new ordinance was necessary and inevitable for protecting the sovereignty of the country, adding that it would be similar to the United States’ Patriot Act.

The amendment in the Army Act is missing persons specific, the channel reported. It said that the Supreme Court had questioned the intelligence agencies’ legal authority to apprehend and detain people during the missing persons’ case and this ordinance sought to redress that. The channel said that following the enactment of this ordinance, people arrested and shifted to an unknown location would not have to be presented before any court of law. It reported that the families of missing persons could not ask the courts to force law enforcement agencies to produce suspected terrorists.

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