Changing regional scenario brings NAP to fore

Without judiciary's support, it is hard to implement bills that have been adopted to combat terrorism, says Wahab

KARACHI:

Speakers at a moot on Friday said that the National Action Plan (NAP) to counter terrorism has not been fully implemented due to various reasons, mainly lack of civilian ownership of the plan for its execution, confusion on the definition of terrorism, and absence of a national narrative on terrorism.

They were speaking a ceremony organised by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Pakistan, a German political foundation, Pakistan Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad based think-tank here on to launch two reports- "Defining Terrorism in Pakistan" and "Assessing the National Action Plan to counter terrorism and defining terrorism in Pakistan."

Chief Minister's Law Adviser Barrister Murtaza Wahab said that without the support of the judiciary, it is hard to implement the bills that have been adopted to curb crimes and combat terrorism.

Pakistan Peoples Party ex-Senator Taj Haider said National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) was empowered to implement NAP and coordinate among all active law enforcement and intelligence agencies. "But unfortunately, the NACTA was crippled."

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FES Country Director Dr Jochen Hippler stressed the need to have a clear definition of terrorism and to execute the NAP with its ownership by the government to eliminate terrorism from Pakistan.

MQM-P MPA Mangla Sharma said that Pakistan should prepare itself to confront any potential security threats after the Taliban take over in Kabul.

Citizen Police Liason Committee chief Zubair Habib, Asad Iqbal Butt, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan's co-chair Asad Iqbal Butt, PIPS's Safdar Sial, and FES Program Coordinators Hamayoun Khan also spoke at the event.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2021.