Govt mulls new initiatives to combat terrorism

The government was reviewing the National Action Plan (NAP), focusing on conducting intelligent-based operations (IBOs), while the federal cabinet was deliberating on a new policy document to deal with extremism and the rising incidents of terrorism in the country, the National Assembly was informed on Thursday.

The government’s decision to review NAP came in the wake of recent attacks on the Chinese and other foreign nationals, almost a decade after the plan was enacted after the Army Public School (APS) carnage in 2014 in which more than 150 people, mostly minor students, were martyred.

After the APS attack, a national consensus was evolved to come down hard on terrorists.

Recently, the country had witnessed a surge in suicide attacks and terrorism incidents.

“National Action Plan is being reviewed,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told the National Assembly.

The information minister also revealed that a “National Counter Violent Extremism Policy, 2024,” was also being deliberated upon, emphasizing that currently, the federal cabinet was discussing it and likely to give its approval soon.

In addition, the minister said, the government was focusing on the IBOs to curb the menace of terrorism. Emphasizing that the government was fully active in eradicating terrorism, Tarar said that full cooperation was being extended to all the provincial governments in this regard.

Reiterating that capacity-building work has already started, Tarar said that the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) was also being improved. He added that complete cooperation was being extended to the provincial government.

In addition, the information minister continued, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also talked about the safe city network in Karachi, during his recent visit to the metropolis to deal with the rising incidents of snatching and killings.

The minister expressed the hope that the federal and provincial governments, as well as all the law-enforcement agencies, were working together and soon the people would see a decline in terrorism incidents.

He shared all these details in response to a calling-attention notice about the increase in incidents of suicide bombing in different parts of the country and the increase in the incidents of snatching, and gunshots in Karachi, Hyderabad, and Kashmore.

The minister said that the former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government didn’t hold any meetings to examine the implementation of NAP from 2018 to 2022. He recalled that a court had also inquired as to why no meetings were conducted during the PTI government’s tenure.

He said that the situation in Afghanistan and the outlawed Baloch organizations also contributed to the current state of terrorism in the country. “Negotiations were held with terrorists during the PTI regime,” Tarar continued, “the National Action Plan was stopped for talks with terrorists.”

In response to the statement, Opposition Leader Omer Ayub raised the objection, saying that an in-camera session on the security situation was held in the assembly hall, where the military leadership came and briefed the lawmakers about security issues.

Ayub said that the issues were discussed before everyone but misinformation was now being spread. Ayb stressed that people belonging to the PTI had also rendered sacrifices, adding that the record shouldn’t be distorted.

“I’m responding to a question by MQM-P [Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan] lawmaker regarding the law and order situation,” Tarar told the house. “Security is a provincial subject but the federal government is and will be giving full support to the provinces.”

About the announcement of compensation to the victims of these incidents, Tarar said that the federal government could not make such an announcement, because it would be an infringement on the provincial government’s rights.

MQM-P’s Syed Waseem Hussain then demanded the amendment to the 18th

Constitutional Amendment, “if the minister has to answer that security is a provincial subject every time a question is raised”.

Meanwhile, Ayub drew the interior minister’s attention to the non-removal of the names of some members of the National Assembly (MNAs) and the provincial assemblies (MPAs) from the travel stop list, Provisional National Identification List (PNIL) and Black List (BL).

Responding to the calling-attention notice, Tarar, while revealing that 4,800 people were on the black list and 1,109 on the PNIL, asked the PTI – now SIC – lawmakers to provide a list of the names. However, the opposition lawmakers were of the view that the government had all the lists.

Tarar again insisted for a list. The opposition again insisted that the government should do it by itself. Seeing a cat-and-mouse game, which consumed roughly half an hour, the deputy speaker intervened, saying that he would ask his office to take out the list of PTI lawmakers and give it to the government.

The house will meet again on Friday.