ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Protection of Pakistan Bill 2014 has become act of the parliament after President Mamnoon Hussain accorded assent to it on Friday.
The bill will remain in force for a period of two years and is aimed at overcoming terrorist activities throughout the country and bringing peace by awarding rigorous imprisonments and other steps to eradicate terrorism.
The new law doubles the maximum sentence for terrorism offences to 20 years and allows security forces to hold suspects for up to 60 days without disclosing their whereabouts or allegations against them.
Moreover, it permits security forces to shoot suspects on sight with the permission of a grade-15 official.
According to the law, the order to shoot a person on suspicion will come only from an official of a law-enforcement agency or a police officer of grade-15 or above.
