SC sends Anti-Smuggling Act to parliament for review

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC), while recommending amendments to the Anti-Smuggling Act 1977, sent it to parliament for review on Saturday.

The apex court remarked that the Anti-Smuggling Act was full of flaws and sent a copy of the decision to the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP).

The seven-page decision has been written by Justice Shahid Waheed. The decision said that the right to appeal had been given to the accused only in the Anti-Smuggling Act. “Not giving the right of appeal to the government means the act is benefitting the accused,” observed the order.

The SC also sent a copy of the decision to the Law and Justice Commission and secretary law.

The decision said that the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) had lodged a complaint in 1998 that one Ubaid Khan had made property through smuggling. The role of the ANF in Anti-Smuggling Act was only to inform the special judge. The matter remained between the judge and the accused after the stance of the accused comes to open. The role of complainant ends after informing the judge under the Anti-Smuggling Act. The Peshawar High Court (PHC) had dismissed an appeal, filed by the ANF, for not being an affected party.

“All over the world, the right to appeal has been given to the state and the government in the Anti-Smuggling Act,” said the decision adding that it would be appropriate that parliament should review the law so that the right to appeal could be given to the state.