3 serious cases of recognisable acts of terror, the anti-terror legislation is in fact being used to try ordinary criminal cases, either in a deliberate attempt to evade the procedural safeguards guaranteed by ordinary courts or due to the vague and overly broad definitions of ‘terrorism’ in the legislation. The current legislative scheme entails significant violations of human rights but, furthermore, has also failed to serve as a deterrent against acts of terror. A re-examination of existing cases and a review of the current legislation are both urgently required. Furthermore, lessons must be learnt from past mistakes when looking forward to new ways of combatting terrorism in the coming months and years. TERROR ON DEATH ROW THE ABUSE AND OVERUSE OF PAKISTAN’S ANTI-TERRORISM LEGISLATION