QUETTA — The Balochistan High Court (BHC) has ruled that prisoners convicted under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997 are not entitled to general or special remission, pardons, or clemency, affirming that Section 21-F of the law categorically excludes such convicts from any sentence reduction.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Kamran Khan Mulakhail and Justice Najamuddin Mengal announced the judgment while dismissing a batch of constitutional petitions filed in 2023 and 2024 by terrorism convicts seeking remission under Article 45 of the Constitution and the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978.
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The court held that Section 21-F, inserted in 2001, was a deliberate legislative measure aimed at permanently excluding terrorism convicts from the benefit of pardons or sentence reductions. “The intent of the legislature is clear and leaves no room for relaxation or interpretation,” the bench stated.
It ruled that the Anti-Terrorism Act, being a special law, overrides general legislation such as the Prisons Act, 1894, and therefore takes precedence in determining the legal rights of convicts.
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Petitioners had argued that denial of remission violated Article 25 (Equality Before Law) of the Constitution. The court disagreed, holding that terrorism convicts form a distinct legal class, and their separate treatment is reasonable and constitutionally valid.
Citing Supreme Court precedents — including Sherwani, Government of Balochistan vs Azizullah, and Dr Mubashir Hassan vs Federation of Pakistan — the bench reaffirmed that reasonable classification is permissible under the Constitution.
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The judgment directed the Home Department, Inspector General of Prisons, and all superintendents of jails to: Revoke all illegal remissions previously granted to terrorism convicts; Recalculate sentences in accordance with the law; Ensure that future pardons or remissions strictly adhere to statutory provisions.
The court also warned that officials violating these directives would face disciplinary action.
This landmark ruling is expected to have wide-ranging implications for hundreds of prisoners convicted under the ATA, reinforcing a zero-tolerance stance on terrorism-related offences in Pakistan’s legal system.