ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s parliament passed a law yesterday giving security forces sweeping powers to clamp down on militancy, but some activists and legislators criticised the provisions as too harsh.
The legislation, known as the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance, must now be signed into law by the president.
The debate over the law follows months of high-profile Taliban attacks and this month’s offensive by the Pakistani military against militant sanctuaries in the remote border region of North Waziristan.
Opposition senators had managed to water down some of the law’s most punitive clauses, said Senator Afrasiab Khattak.
“It is still a very harsh law though,” Khattak said by telephone.
“We will be raising these issues again when the law comes up for renewal in two years.”
REUTERS
