ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee has, according to a recent report, approved the controversial ‘Investigation for Fair Trial Bill 2012’. If passed by parliament into law, it would authorise the law-enforcement agencies to tape phone calls and monitor SMSs and emails as part of their investigation into acts of terrorism or in probing alleged suspects of terrorist acts.
The very title of the proposed bill is misleading since it gives the impression that any investigation carried out after its passage will be intrinsically fair. We know that this isn’t necessarily the case, even in the most free of democracies.
The second point is that the passage of this bill will grant the government unlimited access to barge and violate the privacy of citizens, especially in their homes, which is clearly in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of Pakistan. Third, the proposed bill is also in conflict with Article 8 of the Constitution, which provides that laws inconsistent with, or in derogation of, fundamental rights are void. Lastly, even if the bill has been approved in line with the best practices in the UK, the US and other developed countries, it does not seem practicable and would be open to widespread abuse.
Dr Farkhanda Zia, Chairperson Faculty of Shariah and Law, IIUI
Shamreeza Riaz, Researcher, IIUI
Nuzhat Mehmood Khan, Advocate of the High Court
Syeda Saima Shabbir, Research and Reference Officer of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2012.
