of torture confirmed by a government appointed District Standing Medical Board (DSMB) out of a sample of 1,867 Medico-Legal Certificates in the district of Faisalabad during the period 2006-2012. 134 of the victims were women and 58 were children. Despite being a party to the UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Pakistan has failed to enact a comprehensive legislative framework that criminalises torture and establishes an independent investigation mechanism to investigate allegations of torture against the police. As a result, police in Pakistan enjoy virtual impunity to torture suspects. In May, 2017, the UN Committee Against Torture, the monitoring body for the UNCAT, expressed serious concern at “consistent reports that police engage in the widespread practice of torture throughout the territory of the state party with a view to obtaining confessions from persons in custody”.57 As a result of the suspension of fundamental guarantees and safeguards under the counter-terrorism regime, there is a heightened risk of torture for suspects under the ATA. The Committee Against Torture accordingly noted that the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 “eliminates legal safeguards against torture that are otherwise provided to persons deprived of their liberty.”58 The ATA allows police to detain a person for up to thirty days without review or the possibility of a habeas petition.59 During this time, investigation is meant to be concluded by a joint investigative team. However, Section 21-E of the ATA allows the remand to be extended by another 90 days on application to the courts “if further evidence may be available.” These provisions are relied upon extensively by police to extract confessions and statements from accused persons through resorting to heinous forms of torture.60 The risk of torture is increasingly heightened by the 30-day maximum period for the completion of investigation mandated upon the police through the ATA. Compelled to produce suspects within the stipulated deadline, the police resort to rounding up several suspects and torturing them into confessing. Interviews of convicted persons under the ATA revealed that police often arrest and detain several suspects and ask them for exorbitant bribes. Those able to pay are released, while the rest are tortured by police into confessing. This is evidenced in the case of Amjad Ali, who was arrested in 2006 on charges of abduction for ransom, creating a sense of fear in society and for impersonating a police officer. Following his arrest, Amjad was kept in an undisclosed place for over a fortnight where the police subjected him to severe torture to coerce him into providing evidence. He was subsequently taken to People’s Colony Police Station and presented to the Magistrate the next day. The Special Anti-Terrorism Court, Gujranwala convicted Amjad on 31 January, 2007 on the basis of a recovery of PKR 30,000 ($300) and some jewellery ornaments that the police claim to have made from his place of residence. The evidence was not presented under proper 57 Committee Against Torture. Concluding Observation on the Initial Report of Pakistan. Para 12, 60th Session, 4 May 2017 U.N. Doc.CAT/C/PAK/CO/158 Id. 58 Id. 59 ATA, S. 21 60 Terror on Death Row. 17 TRIAL AND TERROR 19