Sri Lanka, Aug. 22 -- Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath informed Parliament today (22) that the draft bill to repeal the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) will be published in the Government Gazette in the beginning of September.

"We will make the necessary amendments and finalize them before the end of this month, after which the gazette notification to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act will be published in early September," the Minister stated.

He further emphasized that, although the PTA is still being applied to a limited extent in the country, it is not being used to target any ethnic or religious communities.

"It is currently used to combat organized crime and underworld activities. The majority of th...