a High Court and Supreme Court of Pakistan a proficient, diligent and professionally competent
Public Prosecutors or Law Officers and may also appoint one or more Additional Prosecutors or Law
officers:
Provided that the Government may also appoint, for any case or class of cases, a Special
Prosecutor.]
(2) Every person appointed as a Public Prosecutor or an Additional Public Prosecutor or a Special
Public Prosecutor shall be deemed to be a Public Prosecutor within the meaning of section 492 of the
Code, and the provisions of the Code shall have effect accordingly.
19. Procedure and Powers of 1[Antiterrorism Court]. — 2[(1) An investigating officer under
this Act shall be an officer or Police Officer not below the rank of Inspector or equivalent or, if the
Government deems necessary Joint Investigation Team to be constituted by the Government shall be
headed by an Investigating Officer of Police not below the rank of Superintendent of Police, (BS18)
and other officers of JlT may include equivalent rank from Intelligence Agencies, Armed Forces and
Civil Armed Forces. The JIT shall comprise five members and for the meeting purposes the quorum
shall consists of three members.
The investigating officer to the JIT, as case may be, shall complete the investigation in respect of
cases triable by the court within thirty working days. The report under section 173 of the Code shall
be signed and forwarded by the investigating officer of police directly to the court:
Provided that where the provisions of sections 4 and 5 have been invoked, the investigation shall
be conducted by the JIT comprising members of armed or civil armed forces, as the case may be,
intelligence agencies and other law enforcement agencies including an investigating officer of police
not below the rank of Inspector who shall sign the report under section 173 of the Code and forward
it to the Court:
Provided further that, where investigation is not completed within a period of thirty days from the
date of recording of the first information report under section 154 of the code, the investigating
officer or the JIT shall, within three days after expiration of such period, forward to the Court through
the Public Prosecutor, an interim report under��section 173 of the Code, stating therein the result of
investigation made until then and the Court shall commence the trial on the basis of such interim
report, unless, for reasons to be recorded, the Court decides that the trial may not so commence. The
interim report shall be signed by the investigating officer of police.]
(1A) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the Federal
Government may, in respect of any case registered by or under investigation with, the Police or any
other investigation agency or authority, by order in writing, entrust inquiry or such investigation to
such agency or authority as it may deem fit and thereupon the Police, or any other investigation
agency or the authority shall transfer the record of the case to such agency or authority.
1 Subs. by Act XIII of 1999, s.2.
2 Subs. by Act VI of 2014. s.5.
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