Says amendment allows for ‘secret trials’ that could result in human rights violations, misuse of anti-terrorism laws
Amnesty International said on Friday that the Punjab Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2026, raised “serious” concerns about the “right to a fair trial”, further noting that the amendment allowed for “secret trials” that could result in grave human rights violations.
On August 31, the Punjab Assembly passed the Punjab Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2026 amid protests and a walkout by opposition lawmakers.
In a public statement, Amnesty International noted that the amendment was a “glaring attack on the right to fair trial in Pakistan”.
Pakistan: The Anti-Terrorism (Punjab Amendment) Act, 2026, raises serious concerns about the right to a fair trial.
In a new public statement, Amnesty International examines the amendment against Pakistan’s obligations under international human rights law and highlights how…
— Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office (@amnestysasia) October 9, 2026
The statement added that the amendment created a mechanism for trials shrouded in “complete secrecy”, exceeding permissible exceptions to the “right to a fair trial”, which includes a public trial, under international human rights law, further adding that it deepened concerns regarding “past misuse” of anti-terrorism laws that had resulted in grave human rights violations.
Read: LHC seeks arguments on anti-terror bill’s legality
The statement also noted that the process and criteria for designating a trial as a “special security case” were highly vague and lacked transparency.
“The text of section 21AAA(5)(b) suggests that the designated authority has full discretion to decide whether a case or a class of cases require extraordinary protection measures and that the chief justice is bound by this decision. Neither the amendment nor the original act offers a definition of what constitutes extraordinary protection,” it added.
Amnesty further stated that the amendment allowed a level of secrecy with enormous potential for miscarriage of justice.
“The amendment is applicable to Punjab province, which is Pakistan’s most populous province consisting of 127,333,305 people (50.9% of the total population)37, and if this act is allowed to be implemented it could lead to a knock-on effect in other provinces who could pass similar legislation.”
Background of law
The amendment inserted a new Section 21AAA into the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, creating a “special security case” mechanism for cases in which participants are considered to require extraordinary protection.
Read More: Punjab Assembly passes controversial anti-terror law
A designated authority — an officer of at least BS-20 whose identity would itself remain confidential — can declare a case or a class of cases a special security case. At the authority’s request, the LHC chief justice can assign the case to an Anti-Terrorism Court judge.
The amendment also said that the identities of judges, public prosecutors, defence counsel, police officers, witnesses and other persons involved in such proceedings “shall not be disclosed”.
Judicial orders will use official titles instead of judges’ names, and witnesses would be identified by codes issued by the designated authority.
The proceedings could be held at secure premises or conducted through video links, including from prisons. The amendment also allows the government to adopt other security measures it considers appropriate.
