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for political reasons in Baluchistan and the North West Frontier Province. Amnesty International at present is working for only 61 individual cases of prisoners held largely under the Defence of Pakistan Rules, some of whom have been charged with specific offences. Fourteen of these persons have now been adopted, including three Baluchistan leaders, Mirghaus Bizenjo, Khair Baksh Marri and Ataullah Khair Mengal, who are still awaiting trial following their arrest in August 1973.
The assassination of the Home Minister was followed by a number of legal and constitutional changes restricting fundamental rights. By way of the Third Amendment to the Constitution, passed on 12 February 1975, parliament was deprived of its six-monthly obligation to approve the continuation of the state of emergency (and thus also the existence of preventive detention legislation such as the Defence of Pakistan Rules, whose abuse by the police forces was ad- mitted by the Attorney General before the Second Pakistani Jurist's Conference held in January 1975).
The maximum period of detention before producing a detainee before an advisory board was increased to three months, and preventive detention for an indefinite period of time was introduced for persons "acting or attempting to act in a way prejudicial to the security of the state". These provisions were later laid down in the Preventive Detention Laws (Amendment) Bill. Since the February arrests also included members of the assemblies and of the Senate, an ordinance was passed on 10 February 1975, depriving members of the National and Provincial Assemblies retroactively of immunity from arrest during the session period.
In an earlier attempt to counter acts of violence, the government had already set up special courts by way of the Suppression of Terrorist Activities (Special Courts) Ordinance of 5 October 1974, later followed by a bill of the same name. These provide for trial by a High Court judge of a wide range of scheduled offences, and also contain provisions for trial to be held in camera and for changing the burden of proof. The special courts are now widely in use.
One of the prisoners tried before such a court is former Minister of State and Public. Affiars, Mairaj Mohammed Khan, sentenced to 4 years' imprisonment on 9 January 1975. He was tried and sentenced in camera in Karachi Central Jail on charges of making objectionable speeches. He was adopted by AI and featured in the April 1975 Prisoners of the Month Campaign.
The government also introduced the death penalty for those guilty of explosions causing death or serious injury, by way of the Explosive Substances (Amendment) Bill, passed on 5 April 1975. AI Secretary General Martin Ennals discussed recent constitutional and legal changes with Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto during his three-day visit to Pakistan in March 1975. He also met with the Home Minister and had discussions with senior officials in the Foreign Ministry.
Mr Ennals raised with the Prime Minister the question of the increased number of political prisoners held without trial and the continued detention of the three Baluchistan leaders. He expressed concern about the serious departure from normal rules in the Special Courts procedure.
Mr Ennals also discussed the machinery to deal with complaints against abuse of police powers in view of a number of specific allegations of torture which had