Category: 1. Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday that all the endeavours and initiatives of the current government of Pakistan closely aligned with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s vision and philosophy that were anchored in progress and prosperity of the Chinese nation.

PM Shehbaz arrived in China yesterday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) two-day Council of Heads of State (CHS) summit, according to the Foreign Office (FO).

Addressing students and faculty members of Tianjin University today, the premier urged the Pakistani students currently studying there to gain the latest knowledge and technology with sheer commitment and hard work.

In his address, which was also broadcast on national TV channels, the prime minister said that Pakistan fully supported President Xi’s philosophy and vision.

He noted that the Chinese leadership had “inspiring” strategic long-term planning for the progress of the country while keeping the welfare of its people at heart.

“President Xi’s visionary leadership conveyed to the entire globe that long-lasting friendship could be achieved through multilateralism and not through unilateralism, while shared progress and prosperity could be conceived through joint teams’ work and not through exclusive rights,” PM Shehbaz added.

Members of the prime minister’s delegation, ambassadors, and officials were also present on the occasion.

The premier also mentioned that taking 800 million people out of poverty had been the most towering achievement of China, which was made possible due to the historic transformation under President Xi’s visionary leadership. He hailed the Chinese president’s commitment to the welfare of his people and to building a shared destiny and future.

PM Shehbaz highlighted that the enduring friendship between the two nations not only stood the tests of time but faced enormous challenges of history.

“It withstands owing to commitment and clear vision in our minds; together to find a shared destiny,” he said, adding that all the designs to keep these two great friendly countries were defeated by their united actions and clear understanding.

The prime minister said the Pak-China time-tested friendship was built by their elder generations through unwavering commitment, honesty and unbelievable sincerity, thus “laying the foundation of a friendship to stand on pillars of mutual trust”.

He asserted that the friendship between the two nations would last forever, no matter what challenges came in their way. He noted that their ties were as old as the Silk Road, and as profound as the religious ties between Gandhara, Taxila and Beijing.

He enumerated the historical facts that forged stronger ties, including Pakistan being the first Muslim country to recognise the People’s Republic of China and PIA’s first direct flight from Karachi to Beijing about 60 years ago.

The prime minister lauded that owing to their hard work, sincerity and untiring efforts, the Chinese leadership and its people had transformed the country into the second-largest economy and military powerhouse in the world, adding that Pakistan felt pride over the achievement of its friend.

PM Shehbaz asserted that the incumbent government in Pakistan was also committed to eradicating corruption and poverty, and went on to claim that “not a single corruption case had emerged” during the current government’s tenure.

“We have a shared destiny with China and should learn from the knowledge imparted by the Chinese universities to bring economic [and] agricultural prosperity to the people of Pakistan,” he said.

The prime minister expressed his satisfaction that more than 200 individuals from various parts of Pakistan were studying at Tianjin University. He called on them to utilise their expertise in Pakistan for the welfare, progress and prosperity of their people.

Noting that the university was regarded as “a cradle of great learning” and terming students as ambassadors of Pakistan, the premier expressed the optimism that, owing to their hard work and dedication, they would return to Pakistan as architects for their future.

“Above all, you are the torch bearers of Pakistan-China friendship,” PM Shehbaz highlighted.

The prime minister said the students would become great experts and serve as helping hands not only in China’s progress but also for the well-being and progress of Pakistan.

He observed that about 60 per cent of the population in Pakistan comprised the youth, “which is a huge challenge”, and stressed that they should reap the demographic dividends to unlock this potential and chart new horizons in collaboration with China.

The prime minister noted that the government had sent 1,000 agriculture graduates from Pakistan to China to learn modern techniques. Moreover, about 30,000 students from Pakistan had been getting education and training in China.

He also termed vocational training as critical in building and training the youth in different parts of Pakistan. The prime minister also fondly recalled his memories of his visit to the university in 2017.

The prime minister also visited the National Earthquake Simulation Centre at Tianjin University and appreciated China’s use of modern technology for disaster management.

“By benefiting from Chinese expertise in this regard, Pakistan will be able to adopt effective precautionary measures and strategies to deal with natural disasters in the future,” he said.

PM Shehbaz, Turkiye’s Erdogan meet on the sidelines

On the sidelines of the summit, PM Shehbaz reviewed bilateral relations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and expressed satisfaction with the ties between Islamabad and Ankara, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

“They noted with appreciation the steady increase in high-level exchanges and cooperation across a broad spectrum, including political, economic, defence and security domains,” APP added.

The Turkish president offered his condolences to the PM over the loss of life and property amid the ongoing floods ravaging various parts of Pakistan.

Erdogan “expressed his country’s solidarity with the people of Pakistan and said that the government and people of Turkiye stood shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan in this hour of need”, APP reported.

The pair discussed regional developments and also expressed grave concern

PM Shehbaz is leading a delegation from Pakistan to participate in the SCO summit. The SCO comprises China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus. Another 16 countries are affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners”.

Leaders from Mongolia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkiye, Egypt, the Maldives, Myanmar and others, as well as the chief of the United Nations and heads of various regional and international organisations, are also attending as part of the expanded format.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X that the prime minister had met visiting heads of state at the summit, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“At the 25th SCO Heads of State Council in Tianjin, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held informal meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres,” the post read.

“The warmth and cordiality shown reflected the brotherly and friendly ties between Pakistan and these nations.”

PM Shehbaz is slated to reaffirm Pakistan’s commitment to promoting multilateralism, enhancing regional security and advancing sustainable development, the FO said in a statement earlier. He is also expected to have bilateral meetings with other SCO leaders and invited members to “strengthen diplomatic relations”.

The prime minister would also hold meetings with President Xi and Premier Li Qiang “during which multifaceted dimensions of Pakistan-China bilateral cooperation would be discussed”, according to the FO.

“He would also attend the military parade with President Xi and other world leaders being held in Beijing to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the World’s Anti-Fascist War,” the FO added.

PM Shehbaz, as per the statement, would “interact with reputed Chinese businessmen and corporate executives to discuss bilateral trade, economic and investment ties”. He would also address a Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference in Beijing.

The statement highlighted that the visit was a part of leadership-level exchanges between the two countries.

“It manifests the importance attached by the two countries to further deepen their All Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership, reaffirm support on issues of respective core interests, advance Phase-II of CPEC and maintain regular communication on important regional and global developments,” FO said.

Last week, the government said that PM Shehbaz’s visit to China will mark the formal launch of the second phase of the China­-Pakistan Economic Corr­idor (CPEC-II), focused on industrial cooperation, after a delay of about five years.

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday signed into law the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2025, following its approval by both houses of parliament earlier this month.

According to a statement issued by the Presidency, the legislation aims to strengthen the country’s counterterrorism framework while introducing legal safeguards and oversight mechanisms.

“The law is designed to ensure transparency and accountability in detentions, with a built-in three-year sunset clause to limit its duration,” it said.

“The law includes judicial oversight and safeguards to provide recourse against misuse and abuse of power, unlike past arbitrary practices,” the statement read.

“The amendment aimed to improve counter-terrorism efforts while ensuring legal oversight and safeguards… This is an important step in addressing Pakistan’s ongoing security challenges,” it further stated.

The statement of objects and reasons, tabled during the bill’s passage in Parliament, noted that the prevailing security challenges in the country demanded a “robust response beyond the scope of existing laws.”

This provision would allow for the preventative detention of suspects based on credible information or reasonable suspicion, thereby disrupting terrorist plots before they can be executed, the statement said.

This will also provide LEAs with the legal backing to conduct more effective operations against terrorism. It would facilitate the use of Joint Interrogation Teams (JITs), composed of members from various law enforcement and intelligence agencies, to conduct comprehensive inquiries and gather actionable intelligence, it added.

The bill states that any individual suspected of activities threatening national security or public safety may be detained. It further allows for the detention of individuals involved in target killings, kidnapping for ransom, or extortion for a period of up to three months.

President Asif Ali Zardari has given his assent to the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which empowers security forces with extended detention powers, and was passed through parliament amid opposition uproar.

“The law is designed to ensure transparency and accountability in detentions, with a built-in three-year sunset clause to limit its duration. It includes judicial oversight and safeguards to provide recourse against misuse and abuse of power, unlike past arbitrary practices,” said President Secretariat Press Wing in a statement issued on Sunday.

On August 19, the Senate passed the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Act 2025, restoring lapsed powers that allow law enforcement agencies (LEA) and the armed forces to detain suspects for up to three months on grounds of national security.

Read: Forces regain extended detention powers with Senate nod

The legislation, which drew opposition criticism, amends sub-section (1) of Section 11EEEE of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, enabling preventive detention in cases such as target killings, extortion, and kidnapping for ransom, with oversight provided under Article 10 of the Constitution.

According to the amendment, “the government or, where the provisions of Section 4 have been invoked, the armed forces or civil armed forces for a period not exceeding three months and after recording reasons thereof, issue order for the preventative detention of any person”.

The ammended law states that persons suspected of activities against national security, including target killing, kidnapping for ransom and extortion, can be detained for three months, adding that it applies “against whom sufficient grounds exist of his having been so concerned, for purpose of inquiry”.

Detentions extending beyond this threshold will be subject to Article 10 of the Constitution, which provides safeguards with respect to arrest and detention.

Read More: ATA rearmed with preventive detention clause

According to the ammended law, previous powers under Section 11EEEE, which lapsed in 2016 due to a sunset clause, needed to be “re-inserted to empower the government, Armed Forces and Civil Armed Forces with the necessary authority to detain individuals who pose a significant threat to national security”.

The government contends the provision would allow for preventive detention based on credible information or reasonable suspicion, enabling authorities to disrupt terror plots before they mature.

The move has drawn criticism from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and other rights bodies, who have raised concerns over potential misuse of such sweeping powers.

The law was passed in Senate amid opposition protest, with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Barrister Ali Zafar pointing out that the Supreme Court had examined the provisions of the existing anti-terrorism act and decided that many of its provisions were against the constitution. “It was only after that that the present law was passed, and hence there is no room for any changes in it. By adding any provision in the existing law and making it more draconian, it will only become unconstitutional.”

He lamented that the amendment proposes that even an SHO could detain anybody for a period of three months in prison, and the person in prison will have no recourse to the courts. “The government can call anyone a terrorist on the grounds of public order and imprison them,” he warned.

“We must ask ourselves: will this amendment make Pakistan safer, or will it weaken the constitutional rights we swore an oath to protect?”

• Anti-terrorism bill was passed by NA, Senate this month.
• Law empowers LEAs to detain individuals up to 3 months
• “Law to ensure transparency, accountability in detentions”.
  

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ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday accorded his assent to the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2025, according to a statement issued by the President’s House.

The bill, which seeks to improve counterterrorism efforts while ensuring legal oversight and safeguards, was passed by both the lower and upper houses of parliament — the National Assembly and the Senate — this month.

“The law is designed to ensure transparency and accountability in detentions, with a built-in three-year sunset clause to limit its duration,” it said.

“The law includes judicial oversight and safeguards to provide recourse against misuse and abuse of power, unlike past arbitrary practices,” the statement read.

“The amendment aimed to improve counter-terrorism efforts while ensuring legal oversight and safeguards… This is an important step in addressing Pakistan’s ongoing security challenges,” it further stated.

The statement of objects and reasons, tabled during the bill’s passage in Parliament, noted that the prevailing security challenges in the country demanded a “robust response beyond the scope of existing laws.”

This provision would allow for the preventative detention of suspects based on credible information or reasonable suspicion, thereby disrupting terrorist plots before they can be executed, the statement said.

This will also provide LEAs with the legal backing to conduct more effective operations against terrorism. It would facilitate the use of Joint Interrogation Teams (JITs), composed of members from various law enforcement and intelligence agencies, to conduct comprehensive inquiries and gather actionable intelligence, it added.

The bill states that any individual suspected of activities threatening national security or public safety may be detained. It further allows for the detention of individuals involved in target killings, kidnapping for ransom, or extortion for a period of up to three months.

PUBLISHED
August 31, 2025

Lahore, Gujarat, and Sialkot – what do these cities have in common? They are all major urban centres in Punjab, and they were all drowned in unprecedented floods this week, with Sialkot reportedly experiencing the most intense recorded rainfall in half a century, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department. If this is the state of our major cities, one can only imagine the conditions in rural Punjab. One also wonders if departments like the PMD are only there to measure the loss, rather than prevent it.

Weak coordination and unclear mandate

Pakistan does not seem to have a clear and centralised disaster management system. First we have the “Pakistan Meteorological Department”(PMD) – they are responsible for weather forecasting. Then we have the “Federal Flood Commission” (FFC), responsible for policies around flood prevention systems such as barrages, followed by the “Ministry of Climate Change & Environmental Coordination”, “Rescue 1122”, and finally, the “National Disaster Management Agency” (NDMA), and the “Provincial Disaster Management Agency” (PDMA). So, we have at least 5 separate government bodies that were meant to be on the lookout for these floods to minimise damage and coordinate relief efforts, and they all have overlapping mandates. So why did we still have unprecedented floods?

The PDMA is responsible for the coordination between all the different government agencies. In an interview with the Express Tribune last month, the Director General of PDMA noted that “If you look at the forecast for this year, above average rainfalls have been predicted”. This implies that the PDMA should have been aware of the need for exceptional disaster prevention, considering that he further elaborated that “If you focus on the specifics, you find that over 40-60% above average rainfalls are predicted…which increases the likelihood of urban flooding in Lahore.”

He states that “The majority of our water goes into the drainage system, and there we are not able to benefit from it in the same way that we can and the water goes to waste into the Ravi.” This statement was made weeks before the Monsoon season. The obvious question to ask is that if the government was aware of the likelihood of floods and was conscious of “wasted” water, then why were efforts not made for the rapid development of required projects?

“All the people who die in disasters, as per our compensation policy, are compensated.”

In a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) session, according to the Express Tribune, the Chairman of NDMA, Lt. General Inam Haider, noted that out of Pakistan’s 7,500 glaciers, 45% are rapidly melting. He suggested that Pakistan needs to switch from ground-based sensing to using climate satellites. This is a sensible suggestion, but why were these arrangements not made in advance by the government? Climate change is a reality, but solving the global emergency doesn’t come under the mandate of our numerous disaster response and monitoring agencies; therefore, noting the existence of climate change is redundant. There needs to be visible effort on the ground and in technology that shows that we are preparing to adapt to what is coming down the line.

Deforestation, encroachment and flood vulnerability

This flooding also exposed the consequences of encroachment, legal or illegal, on the flood-prone river banks. Many of Lahore’s neighbourhoods have been flooded, including Park View Housing Society, built by the Ravi. This is a testament to the vulnerability of even elite housing societies to the lethal dangers of extreme weather events caused by climate change. Building embankments is not sufficient, as they tend to breach during exceptional floods, and often make it difficult for the water to drain back into the river. Even illegal encroachments do not happen in a vacuum – if the encroachments are connected to the rest of the city through roads and infrastructure, it requires the partnership of other actors, therefore, the non-enforcement of existing laws by the government is a root cause.

Satellite images from the Neelum Valley in Kashmir have been going viral because of a shocking contrast. On our side of the Neelum River, one can see clear-cuts and shrinking greenery, while on the other side of the Line of Control, one sees a lush green national park. Which side would perish more in the event of flooding? The trees on the Pakistan side of the Neelum Valley were not cut down by India, nor by the top 10 polluting economies. We would have only our poor prevention and mitigation to blame if the valley is destroyed by a flood. The viral image can be verified with a quick search on Google Earth as seen here.

Shifting the blame

Every year, we face the same floods, and every year we come up with more truisms or bad faith deflections: global climate change, Indian water aggression, and the incompetence of previous governments. While climate change is an indisputable global emergency, it is not within Pakistan’s capacity to address the global crisis. Pakistan lacks the international standing or credibility to lead that change. Furthermore, since when does the climate crisis absolve us of our responsibilities to protect our civilians? This false dichotomy needs to end.

Provincial inequity 

Another aspect of federal failure is evident in the difference in relief efforts in K-P vs Punjab. These annual floods are now a reality, and are predicted to be 22% worse next year. According to reports, around 150,000 people have been evacuated by the NDMA in Punjab, compared to only a little over 14,000 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa over the flooding in that province, according to a Dawn report. This raises yet another question over the inequity between disaster management in Punjab as opposed to more neglected provinces like KP and Sindh. Over 600 people are dead in KP. How many of these deaths are due to systemic neglect by the federal authorities? It is yet to be seen how the possible flooding in Sindh will be dealt with.

The climate crisis risks becoming a money-making political economy for the elite in Pakistan. Just like the poor condition of many Palestinians in Jordan and Lebanon has become a money-making scheme for these countries. They receive aid from all over the world to care for these people, while often barring them from employment, leaving the regimes with no incentive to improve the conditions of Palestinians. Neglect becomes lucrative.

What should the international community do?

According to a report by The Express Tribune, the World Bank has committed 2.19 billion, while the Asian Development Bank has pledged 1.9 billion, and the Islamic Development Bank has pledged 3.6 billion. This is based on Pakistan’s assessment of “post damage needs”, amounting to $16 billion in total.

The international community shouldn’t simply throw money at Pakistan. The world must demand accountability on adaptation plans in Pakistan, while Pakistan must demand accountability on emissions reduction. Pakistan needs a clear plan for implementation and transparency, such that money can’t be pocketed by middlemen. Aid should be provided under the strict conditions of transparency, accountability, and mitigation plans for future flooding. If the international community does not set strict conditions, then the climate crisis will become an industry unto itself in Pakistan, as a means to make money off of the destruction of our habitat – a more blatant caricature of what’s already been happening since the Industrial Revolution.

The worst is yet to come

According to a research paper, “The Future of the Human Niche”, authored by some of the world’s most prominent experts, over a billion people could be displaced as a result of climate change within the next few decades – something that has never happened before. In their typical intellectual euphemisms, the authors of the paper do not present this opinion with an alarming tone, instead, they write: “We demonstrate that depending on scenarios of population growth and warming, over the coming 50 years, one to three billion people are projected to be left outside the climate conditions that have served humanity well over the past 6,000 years.” This is academic speak for telling us that we are headed for societal collapse.

The climate crisis is another way of saying: mass rape, mass displacement, and mass starvation. This is the truth about societal collapse – the inevitable result of the climate crisis. As temperatures continue to increase, soon, we will not be able to grow food in much of Pakistan and India. The current flooding of the Punjab will be the least of our concerns 20-30 years down the road. A country with extreme food scarcity is a country that is bound to be engulfed by war, civil war, internal refugees, and ethnic hostilities.

So far, over 1,000,000 people have migrated to Karachi from Interior Sindh, according to data from the Jinnah Institute, because they found themselves living “outside the climate conditions that served humanity well over the past 6,000 years.”

What can we do? 

The rhetoric around building more dams seems to be a politicisation of the ongoing tragedy, which could reignite the inter-provincial animosity between Sindh and Punjab and create disharmony. Instead, solutions need to be holistic and must involve a range of ideas. For example, good zoning laws could be beneficial. Zoning laws should be designed to prevent development in flood-prone zones altogether, especially with the increasing unpredictability of weather patterns. Early warning systems need to be strengthened as well. Countries like China, with plenty of dams, are still vulnerable to floods. In 2024, during Typhoon Tramy in Hainan, the rainwater was intense enough to cause the authorities to open floodgates when the local dam reached capacity. During the 2021 floods, when over 13 reservoirs were reportedly at capacity and overwhelmed their ability to control the flooding. “Check dams” and “retention basins” could be community-based, decentralised alternatives to full-fledged dams.

All the evidence points to the fact that “deep adaptation” as proposed by Professor Jem Bendall, is the way to go for low-emission states, while reducing emissions is the primary responsibility of the G 10 Economies. In a 2018 paper, ‘Deep Adaptation: A Map for Navigating Climate Tragedy’, Bendall argues that we need 1) Resilience, 2) Relinquishment, 3) Restoration, and 4) Reconciliation. Instead of constantly trying to control nature, we need to come to peace with the reality of the damage caused to nature, and refrain from further “development” and instead mine indigenous adaptation measures that had served us prior to excessive urban development. This will require us to address our exploding population by following the Bangladesh model.

We must start with the basics: 1) Build appropriate storm drainage in the major cities, 2) Halt “development” work along all wetlands, rivers, and forests, 3) Restore forests and wetlands that have been destroyed, and 4) Present a coherent “deep adaptation” plan to the international community with the help of climate change experts, that aims to make Pakistan as resistant as possible to increasing floods, droughts, and heatwaves. 4b) Allow the international community to have full supervision and the ability to monitor the flow of money that is meant to help the country adapt.

Finally, we shouldn’t be quick to redeem ourselves by citing that we are contributing to less than 1% of global emissions. We should ask ourselves, instead, whether if we had the industrial capacity of China and the United States, would we have cared at all about the impact of climate change? The answer is clear to anyone who takes a look around us, evident in the way we have treated our ecosystems, our housing, our rivers, our forests, and even our urban infrastructure. Our low emissions are circumstantial. Had we been in the same position as the United States or China, would we have been any different? The state of our environmental protection laws suggests that we may have been even worse.

The famous song “Sohni Dharti Allah Rakhe Qadam Qadam Aabad”, should be banned until we prove ourselves worthy of these lands. With floods drowning the Punjab, we must ask: what have we done in the service of this Dharti? Why are we surprised when our Sohni Dharti is not kind to us in return?

 

Zain Haq is a freelance contributor

All facts and information are the sole responsibility of the author

President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday signed into law the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2025, seeking to improve counterterrorism efforts while ensuring legal oversight and safeguards.

The amendments, made to the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997, were passed by both the National Assembly and the Senate this month amid the opposition’s uproar, as it reinserted powers granted to law enforcement authorities (LEAs) and the armed forces to detain individuals for up to three months.

“President Asif Ali Zardari has given assent to the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2025,” today’s statement by the President’s House said.

“This law strengthens the ability of security agencies to prevent terrorism and protect national security.”

It added that the law included judicial oversight and safeguards to provide recourse against misuse and abuse of power, unlike past arbitrary practices.

“The amendment aims to improve counter-terrorism efforts while ensuring legal oversight and safeguards,” it said. “This is an important step in addressing Pakistan’s ongoing security challenges.”

The bill, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, read: “The government or, where the provisions of section 4 have been invoked, the armed forces or civil armed forces, as the case maybe, subject to the specific or general order of the government in this regard, for a period not exceeding three months and after recording reasons thereof, issue order for the preventative detention of any person.”

This amendment was made to sub-section (1) of Section 11EEEE of the ATA.

Any person suspected of activities against national security or safety will be detained, according to the bill, adding that persons involved in target killing, kidnapping for ransom, or extortion can be detained for three months.

The bill also added that it applies “against whom sufficient grounds exist of his having been so concerned, for [the] purpose of inquiry”.

It stated that the detention of a person arrested under Section 11EEEE, including detention exceeding three months, would be subject to the provisions of Article 10 (safeguards as to arrest and detention) of the Constitution.

If a detention order is issued by the army or civil forces, the investigation will be conducted by a joint investigation team, according to the bill.

“The inquiry will be conducted by no police officer below the rank of superintendent of police, intelligence agencies, civil armed forces, armed forces, and other law-enforcing agencies,” the bill added.

The statement of objects and reasons, presented in the houses during the passage of the bill, said that the current security situation in the country required a “robust response that goes beyond the existing legal framework.”

“The erstwhile amendment of Section 11EEEE of the Act ibid, are required to be re-inserted to empower the government, Armed Forces and Civil Armed Forces with the necessary authority to detain individuals who pose a significant threat to national security,” it added.

This provision would allow for the preventive detention of suspects based on credible information or reasonable suspicion, thereby disrupting terrorist plots before they can be executed, it said.

This will also provide law enforcement agencies with the legal backing to conduct more effective operations against terrorism. It would facilitate the use of joint interrogation teams (JITs), composed of members from various law enforcement and intelligence agencies, to conduct comprehensive inquiries and gather actionable intelligence, the statement added.