PHOTO: ISPR
The apex committees in the four provinces, as well as in AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan, were formed to monitor implementation of the National Action Plan against terrorism.
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However, after the recent uptick in terrorist attacks in Balochistan and Sindh, and unabated truce violations by an increasingly hostile India, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has mandated the apex committees in the two provinces and AJK to also take on the terrorist threat from India’s spy agency, RAW, according to insiders.
The AJK apex committee has been mandated to oversee evacuation of the villages near the LoC. “The committee will not only deal with the operational aspects to deal with Indian aggression, but will also oversee humanitarian efforts involving evacuation of civilian population,” a federal government functionary told The Express Tribune.
Similarly, the apex committees in Balochistan and Sindh have been mandated to directly oversee the operations to counter anti-state elements, home-grown terrorists and criminal mafias.
“The security situation and related dynamics in the AJK are very different from Balochistan and Sindh. In the AJK, the LoC tension is an issue unlike the two provinces where the main issue is terrorism. So, the related mandates in the provinces and AJK vary accordingly,” he said.
He said the anti-state elements in Balochistan and Sindh are supported by hostile agencies, including India’s RAW and Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS).
“Home-grown terror networks that have religious and sectarian roots, and criminal networks, including extortion mafias, target killers, drug peddlers, complement each other directly or indirectly. The masterminds mostly have links across the border,” he said, referring to India and Afghanistan.
“In such a scenario, the importance of a forum that brings together civilian government functionaries, military officials and intelligence personnel becomes vital for smooth and effective counterterrorism operations.”
Sources said that in the two provinces, the counterterrorism operations were also affected by political pressures and related factors.
“Being heads of their respective apex committees, the chief ministers have been assigned to make sure that relevant factors do not influence counterterrorism operations, and terrorists, irrespective of political connections, party affiliations and family backgrounds, are taken to task.”
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The recent terrorist attacks, including the one on the police training centre in Quetta and the Shah Noorani shrine bombing prompted the authorities to expand the scope of apex committees across Pakistan, the AJK and the G-B with the mandate to take action against criminal networks in addition to terrorist organisations to break the nexus between terrorists and criminals.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Balochistan’s Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti said the federal and provincial governments, and security establishment were on the same page vis-à-vis fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
“The root cause of terrorism in Balochistan is RAW’s funding to anti-state elements, including separatist groups and sectarian terrorist outfits like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. We are taking caring of it.”
Regarding political pressure, Bugti said: “Even if there is any such pressure, we will not allow it hamper our resolve eliminate terrorism. For this purpose, the provincial apex committee is performing the lead role.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 20th, 2016.
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