Sri Lanka, July 22 -- Sri Lanka's decades-old Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) is currently being fast-tracked for repeal, Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara told Parliament yesterday.

He said that the Cabinet-appointed committee has finalised the new replacement law. The completed draft is undergoing final preparations to be presented to Cabinet and then to Parliament for the Bill to be passed and gazetted with the repeal shortly.

"We will repeal the 46-year-old PTA and present the new people-centric Counter-Terrorism Bill to Parliament in the coming months,"she said.

Under the current transition phase, Minister Nanayakkara noted that individuals detained for extended periods without hearings under the old...