Going against non-state actor

In February this year, the National Security Committee, headed by the PM, had decided that the state cannot be allowed to ‘become hostage to extremism’. Then, in April, came a ban on a couple of charities and trusts — including Al-Anfaal Trust, Dawatul Irshad Trust and Muaz Bin Jabal Trust — having links with Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) and its affiliated organisations that already feature among the terrorist outfits banned by the UN. And now a ‘substantial and irreversible’ action is claimed to have been taken by the state, making all the mentioned organisations ‘fully dysfunctional’. So one can see a series of steps pointing towards a consistent policy against extremism and terrorism.

Under the latest punitive action, 13 JuD leaders, including its chief Hafiz Saeed and his deputy Abdul Rehman Makki, have been booked in about two dozen cases for terror financing and money laundering under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. The cases have been registered by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in five cities of Punjab, claiming that JuD was financing terrorism from the massive funds collected through the charities and trusts mentioned above.

The action follows a recent warning from the FATF, the international terrorism financing watchdog, to ensure full compliance with its 40-point action plan to counter money laundering and terror financing. Already placed on the FATF’s ‘grey list’ of countries lacking adequate controls over money laundering and terrorism, Pakistan managed to avert being downgraded to the ‘blacklist’ of the 36-member watchdog during the last month’s review, thanks to the diplomatic support extended by longtime ally China, as well as brother Muslim countries Turkey and Malaysia. Now with another review, which may well be a final one, coming up in October, the sword of Damocles thus hangs over Pakistan.

The state appears to have realised that nothing worthwhile can be achieved against these non-state actors by working in fits and starts, and a comprehensive strategy is required to bring them under state control and ensure internal security of the country. The current civil and military leadership appears on track to take this campaign to its logical conclusion in line with the National Action Plan against terrorism and extremism.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2019.

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