PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has called for a written agreement between the Centre and provinces to jointly combat terrorism, stressing that federal and provincial governments must work together to deal with security situation. He also urged political parties to keep their political differences separate from fight against terrorism
The point is important because terrorism is not a problem that any single government, province or institution can tackle on its own. We already have a national framework for dealing with the threat in the form of National Action Plan (NAP), a consensus document prepared with participation of political parties following the horrific terrorist attack on Army Public School in Peshawar in 2014. The plan recognised the need for coordinated action against terrorism. What is required now is to ensure that this spirit of consensus is reflected in practice. There can be no effective fight against terrorism when the Centre and provinces work in isolation or when political differences obstruct security cooperation. A fragmented response only creates gaps that militant groups can exploit. It is important that terrorism does not become another arena for political confrontation. Governments may disagree over policies, priorities and responsibilities yet fight against terrorism should remain above partisan considerations. Statements that create an impression of federal-provincial confrontation can weaken public confidence and, more importantly, could cause distraction from actual threat. The country has already suffered enormously from terrorism. Thousands of civilians and security personnel have lost their lives, while violence has also damaged the economy and disrupted normal life. The sacrifices made over the years should make it clear that there is little room for political point-scoring on an issue of such national importance. The federal and provincial governments must therefore strengthen coordination and build on the consensus achieved through NAP.
