The Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Control and Punishment) Act, 2002 (TADA), was Nepal's reaction to a global apprehension of terrorism since the events of 11 September 2001, and localised in Nepal through continued state of conflict between the government and the pro-republic Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-Maoists).
The comprehensive and convoluted coverage of terrorist and disruptive acts under TADA Section 3(2) targets persons who conspire, cause, compel, commit, instigate, establish, remunerate or publicise acts of terrorism, or harbour persons involved with terrorist and disruptive activities. Terrorist or disruptive activities include damage, destruction, injury, death, kidnapping and threats, and the production, distribution, storage transport, export, import, sale, possession or installation of explosive or poisonous substances, or the assembly and training of persons for these purposes.
One of the dangers of TADA is the inclusion of disruptive activities within the broad definition of terrorist acts. This allows for the application of TADA to political acts that, whilst distinct from terrorism, are determined by the state to have a disruptive effect on the operation of the government or public order. TADA provides that acts covered in Section 3(2) will be taken to have been committed with an intention to undermine or jeopardise the sovereignty and security of Nepal, or committed in a manner to create an environment of public fear.
The National Human Rights Comm-ission of Nepal (NHRC) reports the wide-spread use of abduction and 'disappear-ances' by both the government and the Maoist insurgents. The government is estimated to have been responsible for 170 insurgency-related disappearances. According to Amnesty International, this figure branches into the arrest of 9,900 Maoists (by August 2002) and the extra-judicial execution of an estimated 2,000 Maoists since November 2001. The NHRC has observed that "TADA aids and abets those who, under the guise of maintaining 'law and order' or 'security concerns', continue to violate the human rights of the citizens of Nepal".