10 fundamental challenges faced by the country’s criminal justice system. As such, the fact that a key safeguard against the use of evidence obtained through torture – and, it is hoped, against recourse to torture by police in the first place – is entirely removed in terrorism cases is a cause for grave concern. CONCERN NO. 5: THE CURRENT LEGISLATION HAS FAILED TO CREATE A MEANINGFUL DETERRENT EFFECT Instead of being used in exceptional circumstances to punish those responsible for the very worst acts of terror, Pakistan’s anti-terror legislation is being applied in an arbitrary and haphazard manner to cases in which there is no perceivable element of terrorism. This is extremely concerning – both in light of the infringements of fundamental rights suffered by those individuals, but also because it entails the misdirection of resources which should be focused on those truly responsible for perpetrating acts of terror against Pakistani society. “[THE] OVERBURDENING OF THE SYSTEM HAS DEBILITATING EFFECTS FOR REAL TERRORISM CASES.” Zulfiqar Hameed, Anti-Terrorism Law, July 2012 8 The arbitrary use of legislation to prosecute crimes which cannot justifiably be deemed ‘acts of terror’ does nothing to deter real terrorists in their activities. Instead, it serves only to sow further doubt about the safety and effectiveness of Pakistan’s criminal justice system. The focus of this report is on the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. As the cases and statistics discussed below all pre-date the coming into force of the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance (‘PPO’) of 2013, now available for use instead of or, more commonly, in conjunction with the ATA, we have not closely examined this more recent legislation. Nonetheless, we note with concern that many of the serious flaws and issues identified in relation to the Anti-Terrorism Act are equally relevant to the PPO. “DENYING PAKISTANIS THEIR UNIVERSAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS ISN’T A SMART OR EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR BATTLING TERRORISM.” Human Rights Watch, Pakistan’s Dangerous Anti-Terrorism Law, July 2014 9