ISLAMABAD, Oct 10: President Mamnoon Hussain promulgated on Thursday an anti-terrorism ordinance giving shoot-at-sight powers to civil armed forces for maintaining peace.

Called the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013, it amended the AntiTerrorism Act, 1997, which permitted civil armed forces to shoot only when fired upon.

The ordinance, which was issued by the Prime Minister`s Office instead of the Presidency, allowed a threemonth detention of accused, believed to be `insufficient` time to submit challan (preliminary investigation report) before a court.

Some of the salient features of the new ordinance are that it permits filing of challans by a joint investigation team if the investigation officer fails to do so, swift trial of seven days, witness protection programme, making electronic evidence admissible, trial through video link, transfer of terrorists` cases to other places and blocking the access to mobile phones in jails.

The new ordinance amended the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, in the light of the federal cabinet`s decision on Sept 20 that focused on law and order, particularly in Karachi.

According to a senior official of the Prime Minister`s Office, the ordinance covers all the decisions taken at the cabinet meeting.

`The president promulgated the ordinance when the National Assembly and the Senate are notin session and the president is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary to take immediate action,` theordinance said.

An amendment of section 5, of Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, which gives shoot-at-sight orders said: `In the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (XXVII of 1997), hereinafter referred to as the said Act, in section 5, in subsection (2), in paragraph (i), for the words `when fired upon` the words and comma `after forming reasonable apprehension that death, grievous hurt or destruction of property may be caused by such act shall be substituted.

Ahmer Bilal Sufi, a lawyer and former law minister, told Dawn that section 102 of Pakistan Penal Code already ensured a right to all citizens to shoot any person in self defence.

However, he added, `security forces, which have to protect life and property of people, have no right to kill attackers, criminals or terrorists unless they are fired upon.

I believe that it was imperative to give shoot on sight powers to security forces.

The ordinance allowed civil armed forces to keep terrorists in custody for three months and submit challans (initial investigation report) before courts within that period. However, it is believed impossible for security forces to do so within that period and that would benefit the accused or terrorists.

The section of the ordinance which permits three-month time for detention and investigation said: `The government or, where the provisions of secnon 4 have beeninvoked,the armed forces or civil armed forces, as the case may be, subject to the specific or general order of the government in this regard, for period notexceeding three months and after recording reasons thereof, issue order for the preventive detention of any person who has been concerned in any offence under this Act relating to the security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, or public order relating to target killing, kidnapping for ransom, and extortion / bhatta, or the maintenance of supplies or services, or against whom a reasonable complaint has been made or credible information has been received, or a reasonable suspicion exists of his having been so concerned, for purpose of inquiry: provided that further detention of such person, if necessary, shall be subject to provisions of Article 10 of the Constitution.

Elaborating the provision of Article 10 of constitution, Mr Sufi said the law allowed review of the case for extension of detention by Review Board after expiry of threemonth detention period. But, he added, `even in that case the investigation report would have to be complete in three months and be placed before the board` `In Karachi it has been reported that more than 4,500 terrorists have been arrested during current operation and it is impossible for investigators to submit such a big number of challans in three months,` Mr Sufi said.

`In this way the security forces will lose the battle they would have won in the field, he added.

The lawyer suggested that the three-month time provided for detention and investigation should be extended, otherwise the whole exercise would be back to square one.