National security: New policy draws on Chinese, Malaysian models

Draft policy advocates a shift from the use of force alone to a multi-layered approach.

ISLAMABAD:

A multi-layered strategy has been developed as part of the country’s new security policy to root out extremism and militancy through military action and civilian stabilisation efforts, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The draft policy – prepared by the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA) – will be put up for discussion at a key security meeting called on July 12 in Islamabad. Leaders of major political parties and top military officials will attend the meeting.

The draft has been sent to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who heads the body’s board of governors, sources told The Express Tribune on Friday. A copy of the draft has also been sent to Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

The five layers of the national security policy are: to dismantle, to contain, to prevent, to educate and to reintegrate. It proposes that Pakistan follow China’s security model in Hong Kong and Mahathir Mohamad’s security policy in Malaysia to tackle terrorism and extremism.

Dr Mahathir, in his 22-year stint as prime minister, successfully tackled the ethnic conflict in Malaysia by pursuing economic revival in the country.

Similarly, China adopted a backburner policy for all its security-related issues, including Hong Kong. It pursued a one-point agenda by building its economic strength and changed its policy regarding its neighbours for a better economy.

The 40-page document advocates a shift from a mono-faceted approach relying on the use of force alone to a multi-layered approach addressing all dimensions of the problem at nearly all levels. It calls for reappraisal of Pakistan’s foreign policy, especially vis-à-vis its neighbours. It also suggests police reforms and review of anti-terrorism laws to rid them of lacunas.



The new policy proposes specialised counter-terrorist financing units at the provincial level and strengthening of the existing unit in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

According to the policy, the ‘weak role’ Ulema (religious scholars and clerics) is another ‘environmental cause’ of terrorism and extremism in the country. The Ulema, it says, instead of keeping abreast of the fast-changing times, were preaching a centuries-old paradigm.

The policy recommends strengthening of the judicial system from the grass-roots level to ensure speedy justice. It also calls for reforms in the education sector. Curricula have to be revised and evaluated so as to screen out elements in it, if any, which promote extremist tendencies.

It envisages a structured education and awareness campaign to counter the ‘distorted version of Islam’ disseminated by terrorists, and offer a counter discourse based on Islamic values of peace and tolerance.

The new policy says that the state should devise a mechanism to reintegrate those who either leave so-called jihadi organisations or who get disengage from such acts on any account. The state can utilise former militants through dialogue and also imprisoned terrorists or other suitable strategy to do so.

The policy highlights several causes of terrorism and extremism in the country which, according to NACTA, should be addressed. These causes include 1.) Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s and consequent developments of ‘jihadi networks’ through US assistance 2.) the spread of extremist ideology through literature, madrassas, media and other propaganda techniques, and 3.) international linkages facilitating the cause of terrorists and extremists in one way or the way.

According to Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the national security policy will be a two-pronged: ‘operational’ and ‘strategic’ policy.

“On the operational level, the government will focus on how law-enforcement agencies should go two steps ahead to deal with terrorists who are pushing Pakistan into a blind alley,” he said. At the strategic level, the government will consider massive use of force, negotiation and strategies to deal with extremism, he added.

NACTA’s National Coordinator Syed Hyder Ali told The Express Tribune that the authority has incorporated input from national and international security experts in the new policy. “It has been tailored out through a set of six simulation exercises carried out at the four provincial capitals,” he added.

The prime minister’s adviser on national security and foreign policy Sartaj Aziz said that the premier will consult top politicians on the new policy before finalising it. “It will not be a final policy. Instead, it will be the beginning of some actions,” he told The Express Tribune.

Aziz said the National Security Policy has many dimensions because the security problems in Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Karachi are fundamentally different.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2013.