Review of policies that spawn militants urged

Think tank suggest parliament to form commission

ISLAMABAD: To deal with the menace of militancy in the country, parliament should constitute high-powered commissions aimed at reviewing the policies that produced militants and at mainstreaming those willing to shun violence.

These recommendations were suggested by a working group discussing ‘rehabilitation and reintegration of different brands of militants’, on Monday. This was the second dialogue in a series convened by Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based think tank, on countering extremism in the country.

Members of the group, understanding the diverse debates of what produced militant groups and how to move forward, called upon parliament to constitute a high-powered national-level truth and reconciliation commission.



This commission should address, among other things, how different brands of militant outfits can be mainstreamed, besides reviewing the policies that produce militancy in the first place. It was deliberated whether the commission may even accept the wrongs committed in the past. A widespread amnesty for all, without trial, was contested. No reintegration, rehabilitation and mainstreaming beyond the frameworks of the Constitution will be accepted, it was clarified.

The group also proposed constituting a platform for reviewing the criteria of banned outfits. The terms of references of such a platform, such as commission, may be evolved by a parliamentary group; parliament should also give statutory cover to such a platform.

Members of this commission may include parliamentarians, social scientists, and other experts. The purpose of this commission, it was suggested, should be to review the basic ingredients of banned outfits. It was suggested that National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) can serve as secretariat of this platform.



Moreover, the group also suggested that the groups once banned should be monitored under a framework by a group within NACTA. The group lamented there is no proper mechanism for monitoring banned outfits, due to which they change names. One member also suggested that the existing anti-terror laws should be reviewed after every three years.

The group also discussed how to rehabilitate the radicals. It was suggested that de-radicalisation process/exercise should be institutionalised. Professionals should be engaged in the rehabilitation centres.

The group discussed the difficulties of responding to the ideologies of militants within the rehabilitation centres.

Members of the working group include former IG Punjab Tariq Khosa, former chairperson Council of Islamic Ideology Dr Khalid Masud, NACTA founding head Tariq Pervaiz, columnist and anchor Khurshid Nadeem, defence analyst Lt Gen (retd) Amjad Shoaib, NACTA’s Muhammad Asghar, senior journalist Muhammad Ziauddin, former senator Afrasiab Khattak, defence analyst Gen (retd) Masood Aslam, journalist Syed Arfeen Mehdi, K-P former secretary Khalid Aziz and political analyst Brigadier (retd) Fayyaz. Members of banned outfits also presented their viewpoints.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2017.