President Mamnoon signs Protection of Pakistan Bill into law
New law is tough on terror, has been referred to as 'controversial, repressive and even draconian'.
ISLAMABAD:
President Mamnoon Hussain on Friday signed the Protection of Pakistan Bill 2014 into a law, Express News reported.
The new law, which Human Rights Watch (HRW) says violates Pakistan's international legal obligations, is tough on terror and doubles the maximum sentence for terror offences to 20 years.
It also allows security forces to hold suspects for up to 60 days without disclosing their whereabouts or allegations against them.
The PPB will be applicable for the next two years.
The National Assembly passed the bill on July 2, two days after it was unanimously passed in the Senate.
The government had failed to get all members of the opposition on board, as the Jamat-e-Islami opposed the bill in the National Assembly while the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) abstained from voting.
The law also faced resistance from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), which condemned the government for passing the PPB.
The bill has been referred to as controversial, repressive and even draconian.
President Mamnoon Hussain on Friday signed the Protection of Pakistan Bill 2014 into a law, Express News reported.
The new law, which Human Rights Watch (HRW) says violates Pakistan's international legal obligations, is tough on terror and doubles the maximum sentence for terror offences to 20 years.
It also allows security forces to hold suspects for up to 60 days without disclosing their whereabouts or allegations against them.
The PPB will be applicable for the next two years.
The National Assembly passed the bill on July 2, two days after it was unanimously passed in the Senate.
The government had failed to get all members of the opposition on board, as the Jamat-e-Islami opposed the bill in the National Assembly while the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) abstained from voting.
The law also faced resistance from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), which condemned the government for passing the PPB.
The bill has been referred to as controversial, repressive and even draconian.