Poet Ahnaf Jazeem, yesterday (23), filed a petition in the Supreme Court (SC) against the Anti-Terrorism Bill (ATB), stating that the Bill in its totality does not meet the required threshold of democratic quality. He said that therefore, it is not qualified to be placed before the Parliament and the people to be approved at a referendum.
Jazeem’s petition comes in a context where a number of parties have opposed the enactment of the ATB on grounds that the ATB does not constitute a law that respects the citizens’ fundamental rights, and is therefore likely to pose a threat to those rights. They have further claimed that this law will not rectify the flaws seen in the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act (PTA) which will be replaced by the ATB (after enactment).
Jazeem, who was arrested and detained under the controversial PTA over his literary work, was acquitted last year (2023).