A tighter grip

Interior Ministry cleared the introduction of new restrictions relating to suspects involved in terrorist acts

There are indications that the government is waking up to the fact that it was asleep at the wheel when it came to threats to national security that were hiding in plain sight. On February 29, the Interior Ministry cleared the introduction of a slew of new restrictions relating to those suspected of involvement in terrorist acts, as well as members of proscribed/banned organisations and those found to be, or suspected of being, engaged in human trafficking. All of this is both welcome and very long overdue.

Those that are in the frame under the fourth schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act (1997) may find their passports cancelled, likewise their computerised national identity cards and driving licences. They may be denied the purchase of a SIM card for their mobile phones and not able to open a new bank account either. If they are brought under the fourth schedule, they will also find that they have to register with the police ‘regularly’ at a frequency to be locally determined on a case-by-case basis. This represents a limit on both action and mobility that some may see as an infringement of civil rights, but they are a necessary move if the government really is to deliver on what it promised under the National Action Plan (NAP). There has been an undeniable improvement in the law and order situation nationally, but implementation of NAP has been inequitable. Large parts of Punjab have been untouched by NAP and extremist elements are cocking a snook at the government by openly fundraising and rallying support. This should have been stopped at the outset and the fact that it was not speaks very much to the PML-N taking a lenient view when it suited, and with a large slice of its vote bank in Punjab, it is perhaps not surprising extremism is largely unscathed. We now wish to see and hear of some prominent extremist figures and leaders finding their hitherto carefree lives more tightly constrained. Anything less and we will assume that these fine words amount to little more than window dressing.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 2^nd, 2016.

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