Human Rights and Counterterrorism: A Comparative Analysis of Pakistan and India's Approaches to Civil Liberties and Security

Abstract

This article presents a comparative analysis of Pakistan and India’s counterterrorism frameworks and their implications for human rights, especially concerning marginalized communities. Employing Critical Theory, the study examines how laws such as Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act (1997) and India’s Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) institutionalize “states of exception” that legitimize repression and suspend constitutional rights. The article analyzes India’s revocation of Article 370 in Kashmir and Pakistan’s crackdown on the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the broader Baloch nationalist movement to show how counterterrorism is deployed to suppress dissent under the guise of national security. Despite their differing governance models India’s electoral majoritarianism and Pakistan’s political instability, both states use counterterrorism to justify structural violence, arbitrary detention, and censorship. The study underscores the urgent need for legal reform, judicial oversight, and rights-based governance that reconciles security imperatives with civil liberties in South Asia.