World News
Pakistan’s Punjab Assembly passes law permitting secret trials for terrorism suspects
The legislation allows anonymous judges, prosecutors, and witnesses under sealed proceedings, drawing pushback from opposition politicians and rights advocates.
The short version
- Punjab's provincial assembly approved amendments allowing terrorism trials to proceed in secrecy with concealed identities for judges, witnesses, prosecutors, and defense lawyers.
- A single undisclosed senior official is empowered to classify cases for secret proceedings, with case records permanently sealed.
- Government officials argue the measures shield court personnel from armed group threats, while critics contend the provisions violate constitutional due process and risk political misuse.
- Legal challenges against the legislation are expected in court on constitutional and jurisdictional grounds.
Key facts
- The Punjab Assembly approved the Anti-Terrorism (Punjab Amendment) Bill 2026 on August 31 following an opposition walkout.[Al Jazeera]
- The law allows an unnamed senior bureaucrat, known only to the chief justice of the Lahore High Court, to designate terrorism matters as special security cases.[Al Jazeera]
- Under the designated proceedings, court orders omit signatures, participants use official titles or codes instead of names, hearings may use voice-altering technology over videolink, and case files are sealed without an expiration date.[Al Jazeera]
- Balochistan enacted a similar secret-trial measure in September 2025, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh have not adopted comparable secrecy mechanisms.[Al Jazeera]
- Official provincial representatives, including Punjab's information, senior, and law ministers, did not provide comment to Al Jazeera regarding the bill's passage.[Al Jazeera]
What remains uncertain
- Whether Pakistani courts will uphold or strike down the legislation remains unknown, as opposition figures prepare constitutional challenges regarding fair-trial rights and provincial legislative authority.[Al Jazeera]
- It remains unverified how frequently or broadly the special security designation will be applied, as the law does not specify clear parameters for triggering the classification.[Al Jazeera]