Govt lacks plan to counter terrorism

PM Shehbaz issues directions to relevant quarters to increase cooperation, hold regular meetings

ISLAMABAD:

At a time when militancy is raging out of control, the country doesn’t seem to have a concrete plan to deal with the menace of terrorism as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was found on Friday to be busy in trying to wake up the authorities concerned in order to improve coordination and efficiency.

The absence of a concrete plan, lack of coordination between the federal and the provincial governments and their nonchalant approach to tackle the issue emerged when the prime minister had to issue directions to the relevant quarters to increase cooperation, hold regular meetings and present a comprehensive action plan.

The premier, who chaired a review meeting on the security situation in the country in Islamabad, also directed the national coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) to make connections with provincial counter terrorism departments (CTDs) and law enforcement agencies more active for the complete prevention of terrorism.

“All federal and provincial institutions should increase cooperation among themselves to remedy the recent wave of violence,” PM Shehbaz instructed at a time when there has been a surge in terrorist activities necessitating greater coordination between the federation, provinces and security institutions.

In addition, the PM directed Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, the interior secretary and Nacta national coordinator to go to the provinces and conduct detailed consultations in this regard and “present a comprehensive action plan” – at a time when terrorism and extremism were posing a serious threat and the government needed to implement previous plans, including the National Action Plan (NAP).

Also, the PM said, the “provincial apex committees should hold their meetings regularly” and help in eradicating the scourge of terrorism through cooperation between the institutions.

PM Shehbaz’s directions came on the heels of the rising graph of militancy, two-day deliberation of the National Security Committee vowing to combat terrorism with full force and days after the Nacta board of governors woke up from slumber and held its first meeting after a gap of two years.

The non-functionality of the provincial apex committees was also discussed at the NSC as an official statement issued following the supreme body’s meeting stated that the “provincial apex committees are being revived in full earnest and the LEAs, especially the CTDs, will be brought up to the required fighting standards with requisite capabilities”.

Also read: National security hinges on economic sovereignty, says NSC

The security analysts said that lack of coordination among the governments and the law enforcement agencies deprived the government of timely policy insights and conducting counterterrorism operations across the country.

Renowned security analyst Amir Rana noted that there was hardly any difference in the statements issued after Nacta’s governing body and subsequent meetings, saying: “Coordination was the biggest issue among different institutions right now and things wouldn’t get better until it improves.”

The security expert highlighted that there was a need for segregation between border and internal security issues, saying border security was not the CTD’s issue as it purely dealt with military and only it could deal with it.

“The CTDs suddenly come under pressure whenever terrorism increases,” Rana said, adding that the CTDs were the second line of defence and things were needed to be conceptually clear before moving forward.

During the meeting, the official handout stated, PM Shehbaz vowed that he would not let terrorists and miscreants demoralise the Pakistani people at any cost, saying: “We will not hesitate in making any sacrifice for the safety of our beloved homeland.”

In the meeting, it added, the interior minister and the interior secretary gave a briefing on the overall situation of the country.

The IGs and chief secretaries of the four provinces gave a detailed briefing to the PM on the recent incidents of terrorism, informing him of the measures to implement law and order.

Meanwhile, it maintained, the interior minister and the Islamabad IG thanked PM Shehbaz for increasing the salary of Islamabad police and the ration allowance of Frontier Constabulary (FC) in order to make it equal with all other forces, saying it would boost the morale of the Islamabad police.