A civil-military huddle under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan, on Thursday, had an in-depth review of the progress so far made on different facets of the National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism and took important decisions to meet the threats in the emerging domestic and regional situation.
It decided to fast track implementation of various measures to meet emergent security challenges including cyber security, espionage, judicial and civil reforms, capacity building of law enforcement agencies, counter violent extremism and other issues having a direct bearing on national security.
Among other things, a National Crisis Information Management Cell would be set up with the ministries of interior and information playing a central role.
A 20-point National Action Plan (NAP) for countering terrorism and extremism was evolved by NACTA (National Counter Terrorism Authority) / Ministry of Interior in consultation with relevant stakeholders, and was approved by Parliament in December 2014.
The plan focused on two-pronged strategy – fighting the menace of terrorism and extremism in the battlefield and combating it through reforms in different fields to bring about a change of mindset.
It is a matter of great satisfaction that our defence forces and law-enforcing agencies accomplished their mission in a highly professional manner and their achievements are not only acknowledged and appreciated at home but also at the global level as their success also helped improve the regional and global security environment.
The success was achieved at a huge cost of men and material but it is because of the hard work of the institutions concerned that today normalcy has limped back to all parts of the country including those areas which were previously considered as hotspots of terrorism.
What happened in Karachi and Balochistan in the past was a source of serious concern to every patriotic Pakistani but now people living there have heaved a sigh of relief over resumption of normal life.
Similarly, one of the major offshoots of the NAP is mainstreaming of the formerly Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) that were a state within state and hub of all sorts of criminal activities.
Our valiant forces broke the backbone of terrorists and now the country faces the threat from terrorist activities mostly planned and executed from Afghan soil.
The execution of the well-thought-out border management project would take care of the problem on a long-term basis and a visible change can occur if the new Taliban Government in Kabul fulfils its pledge of taking care of Pakistan’s concern with regard to safe havens for terrorists who fled the country during war against terror.
While the defence forces have great achievements to their credit and the country is reaping the benefits of their sacrifices during the unconventional war, there is a general perception that the federal and provincial governments have missed several targets envisaged in the National Action Plan.
It is not job of the defence forces to manage areas and regions but regrettably the civilian institutions concerned lack the capability and skills to consolidate the gains made during counter-terrorism campaign.
No doubt, some progress has been achieved on some fronts and as a result of which there are now bright prospects of Pakistan coming out of the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) but still much has to be done in other areas.
The complete success against the menace of terrorism and extremism would remain an elusive dream until and unless federal and provincial governments make due investment on capacity building of the police force which calls for focus on best quality training, provision of latest equipment and communication gadgets, end of continued political interference in the working of the police and eradication of the rampant corruption in the institution.
Apart from strengthening the legal framework, there is also a dire and immediate need for judicial reforms as the prevailing system is not delivering and instead is shielding criminals.
There is also something seriously wrong with the selection and appointment process of the judges as a result of which hardly a few persons known for integrity and competence make it to the courts.
The NAP also envisaged full empowerment of the Balochistan government for political reconciliation with complete ownership by all stakeholders but there is no worthwhile progress towards the goal even after seven years.
One cannot ignore the issue of Afghan refugees while combating crime and terror but unfortunately the issue still remains as it is for three decades.
Now that the Taliban are expected to give Afghanistan a strong central government capable of maintaining peace and security throughout the country, one hopes all refugees would be repatriated to their homeland without loss of further time.
Many of the refugees are involved in active business and their services are badly needed by Afghanistan after large-scale brain-drain along with withdrawal of foreign occupation forces.
