Youth Minister Ahmed Mahloof has said that the Anti-Terrorism Act is being amended in a bid to apprehend the real terrorists.

While Minister Mahloof made the statement via Twitter, President of PNC AbdulRaheem Abdulla (Adurey) has alleged that the state was trying to arrest whoever they wanted whenever they wanted.

Mahloof noted that the act is being amended to make sure that it won't be misused again like during the time of former President Abdulla Yameen, who used it to slap terror charges on all his opponents and to sentence them to jail for a long duration.

The state has proposed several amendments to the act, most of which broadened what can be classified as an act of terror. It also move to criminalise supporting terror groups and spreading their ideologies.

The proposed Bill also seeks to void the right to remain silent as granted by Article 48 (C) of the Constitution of Maldives, for those who are arrested under the charges of terror.