NACTA gathering details of Pakistanis involved in foreign conflicts

Nacta chief says authority started to compile the data as IS fighters are returning to their countries

ISLAMABAD: A top security official on Tuesday told a National Assembly panel that details of Pakistanis suspected to be involved in foreign conflicts are being gathered in order to take action against them.

National Counter Terrorism Authority’s (NACTA) National Coordinator Ihsan Ghani said the authority was prompted to compile the data as the Islamic State fighters are returning to their native countries after the group’s defeat in Iraq.

“A meeting was held with provincial and federal government stakeholders and the data received is being verified to prepare a policy recommendation,” the national coordinator told the National Assembly’s Committee on Interior.

Ghani also said that the authority has sent a detailed brief to Pakistani missions abroad about the steps taken against terrorists and extremists in the country and successes achieved during the anti-terror operations.



The NACTA chief while speaking about the National Action Plan (NAP) said that the authority has taken several steps to chock terror financing as it is one of the main components of the plan.

Ghani also informed the panel, which was chaired by MNA Rana Shamim Ahmed Khan, that Nacta has set up a special task force at its headquarters and Chocking Financing for Terrorism (CFT) units in provincial Counter Terrorism Departments (CTDs) in order to curb terror financing.

“Task force on terror financing is regularly coordinating with provincial CFT units and other stakeholders regarding the issue,” he said.

Ghani said that the authority has also framed a model law for the regulation and facilitation of charities which will ensure safe philanthropic practices are done in the country.

Ghani said the model is being shared with all the provinces to stop the collection of donations by illegal entities and to end the misuse of charity. He added that Nacta has also issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the strict implementation of the model law especially during the days of Eid-ul-Azha.



The coordinator said that other measures being used to curb terror financing include a policy on branchless banking and obligatory money declaration.

While sharing the data of arrests, the coordinator said that the law enforcement agencies have arrested 272,065 suspects during various operations since NAP’s approval. “The law enforcement agencies have conducted over 3,572,615 stop and search operations and 8,253 intelligence-based operations in various parts of the country,” he added.

The NACTA chief said that since NAP’s approval, 416 convicts have been executed including 383 in Punjab, 18 in Sindh, seven in K-P, seven in Balochistan and two in AJK. Following the recommendations of apex committees and Ministry of Interior, a total of 190 cases have been transferred to military courts, of which 28 are from Punjab, 30 from Sindh, 86 from K-P, 43 from Balochistan and three cases were referred from Gilgit-Baltistan. The military courts have decided 49 cases while 147 are still under process in military courts, he said.

He said that since launch of Karachi operation, target killing incidents have dropped by 97 per cent, murder case by 87 per cent, terrorism cases by 98 per cent and robberies by 52 per cent in the metropolitan.

About elimination of militant militias in the country, he said that law enforcement agencies have arrested 265,193 terror suspects and conducted 191,927 combing and 3,516,907 stop and search operations after NAP’s approval.

The meeting was also attended by MNAs Syed Iftikharul Hassan, Mian Shahid Hussain Khan Bhatti, Nawab Muhammad Yousuf Talpur, Kanwar Naveed Jameel, Salman Khan Baloch, Naeema Kishwer Khan, Sher Akbar Khan, Shazia Marri and Kishwer Zehra. Senior officers from the Ministry of Interior, Nacta, Ministry of Law and Justice were also present.