LAHORE:The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed concern over the passage of the Punjab Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2026, which allows a government-designated officer, whose identity remains confidential, to declare cases ‘special security cases’, after which the identities of judges, prosecutors, police officers, witnesses and defence counsel may be withheld.
However, the Bill does not adequately define the circumstances in which these extraordinary powers may be invoked, creating scope for abuse against ordinary citizens, political opponents or protesters in the name of security, the HRCP said in a press release issued on Wednesday.
The HRCP demanded that the Bill be reconsidered and brought into conformity with constitutional and international fair-trial guarantees. Moreover, any security measures must be narrowly defined and subject to independent judicial oversight, it added.
