Pakistan - August 2025

On 13 August, the National Assembly passed the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2024, a federal-level update that empowers authorities to detain terror suspects for up to three months without charges. The bill reinstates provisions of the 2014 legislation, and the government maintains that the amendment is necessary to counter rising threats from militant groups in the country. However, opposition leaders and legal experts have criticized the bill, arguing that it undermines due process and allows for preventative detention. Moreover, rights advocates have raised concerns that this new legislation could be misused to facilitate enforced disappearances, a long-standing issue in Pakistan. President Asif Ali Zardari assented the law on 31 August.

Sources: Dawn, VoicePk.net, Devdiscourse, The Express Tribune