Witness protection laws move at a swift speed in NA, Sindh PA

The News 19 September 2013 ISLAMABAD: Before the federal government introduced sweeping changes in the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), as recommended by a committee, the Sindh Assembly passed an extraordinary but direly needed legislation to protect witnesses in cases of heinous crimes. The law was specifically enacted to deal with those arrested in Karachi during the ongoing targeted operation on the charge of collecting extortion money, kidnapping for ransom and target killing. While Karachi has been experiencing a bloodbath for years, perpetrators have hardly ever been arrested, and the common terms that are always used to describe them are “unidentified” and “unknown”.Police and other law enforcement agencies have mostly felt that their job finishes after dubbing them so. Even if the criminals are at times apprehended, they are freed by courts for want of evidence because witnesses do not come forward to depose for fear of being killed, and for deeply flawed prosecution. Investigation is not carried out by police the way it should be conducted. Finally, the cases become too weak to stand thescrutiny of law in courts. The present law will provide suitable protection and safety to the witnesses and their families so that they are not hit by the criminals and their patrons after they will depose against them in courts. The law allows witnesses to conceal their identities by wearing masks, changing their voice and appearance as well as any other form of exclusion during investigation or trial. Video conferencing will also be permissible to record statements. In some cases, they may be relocated to keep them safe and accommodation will be provided to them. Another positive aspect of the legislation is that it has been passed unanimously. The opposition parties including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) supported it. This means that they all want conviction of the target killers, kidnappers for ransom, extortionists and members of mafias like the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and PML-N wish. This also shows that all the political parties, which are major stakeholders in Karachi, have no dispute about the ongoing targeted operation. The MQM, which violently protested the arrest of its former member of the Sindh Assembly Nadim Hashmi on the charge of killing two policemen, was quite softened after he was released on Tuesday following the assertion of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) that no indictable evidence had been found against him. This increased confidence among the public circles about the authenticity and genuineness of the targeted campaign, and gave a lie to the accusation that it was aimed at any specific group or individuals. It showed that the state agencies do not feel reluctance in freeing an arrested person if no concrete and substantial evidence is found against him. However, some quarters described Hashmi’s release as a “compromise” to pacify the MQM. Somewhat similar provisions are also being incorporated in the ATA by the federal government. However, the recommendations made by the three-member committee comprising Federal Minister Zahid Hamid, Sindh Advocate General Khalid Javed Khan and MQM Senator Dr Farough Naseem are more comprehensive. The two laws will complement each other to award due punishment to the criminals. The passage of the witness protection law in the Sindh Assembly is the second major step taken by the PPP’s provincial government, which demonstrates its will to take the criminals head-on. Before that, it made a massive reshuffle in the top hierarchy of Sindh police including the nomination of a new Karachi police chief.It pointed to its seriousness to purge the mega city of criminals. The amendments proposed in the ATA will be cleared by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on his return from abroad. Subsequently, these are likely to be promulgated through a presidential ordinance and would be tabled in either House of Parliament.It is widely believed that these changes will earn parliamentary approval even from the Senate where the ruling party is in minority without much hassle as all parties support them.