Caught NAPping

The interior ministry has announced plans to unveil a new National Action Plan (NAP), while also restructuring the oft-dysfunctional National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta). The plans were announced just a few days after a brazen terrorist attack on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi. Incidentally, NAP 1.0 was announced soon after the 2014 APS attack in Peshawar.

In a nutshell, the oft-critiqued NAP was a counterterrorism and deradicalisation strategy that was well-intentioned but lacking in implementation. Part of the critique may be attributed to the hurried manner in which NAP 1.0 was rushed through. NAP 2.0 may also be seen as a knee-jerk reaction to a prominent terrorist attack, rather than a set of well-thought-out solutions to a series of complex interrelated issues.

One of the more interesting aspects of it is that, according to some reports, the interior ministry plans to set up a cybersecurity organisation to fight cybercrimes. This is odd given that the Federal Investigation agency already has a National Response Centre for Cyber Crime (NR3C), and because most cybercrimes worldwide relate to harassment, fraud and identity theft. Rarely are these crimes within the domain of terrorism.

Meanwhile, Nacta reforms aim to make the body more functional, which is not a high bar, given that the body’s board of governors had not even met during the first four years of its existence. The proposed measures to improve Nacta include capacity building of civil armed forces, upgrading safe city projects and fighting money laundering. On the final point, the government says that it has recovered Rs73 million while arresting 55 accused persons in illegal money transfer cases, with 37 cases registered. While a commendable start, this is not even the tip of the iceberg. It is barely an ice cube. Lest we forget, Model Ayyan Ali was caught with the equivalent of over Rs68 million and her case has lingered on since 2015.

Much like the failings of NAP that have been exposed by various protests and terrorist attacks, existing anti-money laundering policies seem to affect the small fry, with the occasional big fish tangled in the web. The sharks, however, still rule supreme.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2018.

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