The Supreme Court of Pakistan has sent the Anti-smuggling Act 1977 to the Parliament for review with recommendation of amendment in the law.
The apex court in its verdict said that the anti-smuggling law has scores of lacunae. “The anti-smuggling law only allows accused the right to appeal,” the decision read.
“Denying the right to appeal to government means the Anti-smuggling Act benefiting accused,” the court observed.
The copies of the verdict, written by Justice Shahid Waheed and comprised of seven pages, have been dispatched to the Law and Justice Commission, Secretary Law and the Attorney General of Pakistan.
Referring a case, the court said that the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) in a complaint in year 1998 said that a man Ubaid Khan made property with smuggling. “The ANF has only a role of reporting the special judge under the Anti-smuggling Act,” decision read.
“The matter restricted between the judge and the accused after the accused present their stance. The complainant’s role come to an end in the law after reporting the judge,” verdict read.
“The ANF will not be an affected party of the decision after its role ends with complaint. In the anti-smuggling act, the ANF or the state have not been given any right to appeal and only the affected party i.e accused have right to appeal under the law,” according to the decision.
“The Peshawar High Court (PHC) dismissed the ANF’s appeal against the court’s decision in the case because ‘it was not an affected party’,”verdict read.
“The anti-smuggling laws, across the world, give the state or government the right to appeal. It will be appropriate if the parliament revisits the law to give the right to appeal to the state,” the apex court verdict suggests.
