Counter Terrorism & Charging Standards for Prosecutors in Punjab

Before the emergence of the terror activities and prosecution of these matters, it was very effective for the prosecutors to consult Code of Conduct for charging standards. However, anti-terrorism cases demand specialized procedural steps, including the stage of prosecution when the prosecutor needs to scrutinize evidence collected by the police against accused(s) as per facts and circumstances. It is required by the prosecutor to assess whether available evidence and applicability of offences against all or any of the accused is as per facts and circumstances of the case to ensure a case for conviction. While it is true that dealing with terrorism is the top priority of the Government of Pakistan, the country still needs to develop a world class operative criminal justice mechanism for counter- terrorism cases. The paper underhand will discuss the reasons for requirement of guidelines on counter terrorism charging standards in Punjab, mainly in the light of case laws and charging standards of the Crown Prosecution Service in the United Kingdom.

Dr Nadia Khadam holds a PhD from the University of Seoul, South Korea and currently serves as the Senior Assistant Professor at the Department of Law, Bahria University, Islamabad.
Muhammad Adeel Arshad is an Advocate of the High Court in Islamabad.