(i) THE VAGUE AND OVERLY BROAD DEFINITION OF TERRORISM A fundamental flaw within the ATA is the vague and overly broad definition of “terrorism” under its provisions. This allows offences bearing no nexus to militancy and proscribed terrorist networks to be tried under its provisions. A study by Justice Project Pakistan and Reprieve in December, 2014 discovered that as many as 80 percent of those convicted of terrorism related offences under the ATA were accused of offences that had nothing to do with terrorism as it is commonly understood. Furthermore, 86.3 percent of those sentenced to death by the ATCs were convicted for offences bearing little or no connection to terrorism.⁴⁵ Not only does this fundamental weakness lead to serious miscarriages of justice, it also serves to overburden police, prosecution services and courts and so, results in delays in the administration of ‘real’ cases of terrorism. Based on interviews of lawyers conducted by JPP, it was observed that political and economic influence serves as a primary determinant for whether an offence is tried under the ATA or under the ordinary criminal justice system. According to a lawyer with over 17 years of experience representing clients under the ATC, police often book suspects under the ATA in the First Information Report (FIR) in response to the influence exerted by the complainant, even for offences that would not otherwise be defined as terrorism.⁴⁶ The same was reiterated by Mr. Imran Asmat Chaudhry, another senior Advocate of the High Courts with over 7 years of experience in the ATCs, who stated that: “I have personally taken around 11 cases, which were sent to ATCs for trial. [The] motive behind all cases was personal enmity, political rivalry, or any other malignant intentions of the police themselves - even though the crime had no nexus to the ATA.”47 It was additionally noted that police routinely book suspects under the ATA as the law provides them with broad powers of arrest and investigation along with fewer safeguards for suspects.48 The broad definition under the law has often allowed it to be used as a tool of political victimisation by ruling parties against opponents.49 According to data provided by the Prosecutor General of Punjab, in a study conducted in 2014, out of a total of 1,195 cases heard by the province’s 14 ATCs, 178 (15 percent) were transferred to regular courts due to the police incorrectly applying the ATA to the alleged offences. Similarly, in 2013, in Karachi 391 of 565 cases (69.2 percent) heard by the city’s 5 ATCs were transferred to the regular courts for not falling within the ATCs’ ambit.50 “” 45 Terror on Death Row, at p. 10 46 Interview with Anonymous. 20 March 2017. Available on file. 47 Interview with Imran Asmat Chaudhry. 20 March 2017. Available on file 48 Id 49 Id 50 Tariq Parvez & Mehwish Rani. “An Appraisal of Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act” United States Institute of Peace. (August 2015), p 5. Available at https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/SR377-An-Appraisal-of-Pakistan%E2%80%99s-Anti-Terrorism-Act.pdf TRIAL AND TERROR 12