Strengthening the state

Increase in crimes such as abduction for ransom and militancy have become the most pressing problem of our nation.

In a situation where we see what amounts to a breakdown of the rule of law, any attempt to strengthen the writ of the state is to be welcomed. The declaration on October 20, by the federal government of all peace-disrupting elements as ‘enemies’ of the state, and the promulgation of the Pakistan Protection Ordinance, 2013, signed by President Mamnoon Hussain on prime ministerial advice, is good news. The new law adds to those that already exist, including the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance 2013 introduced less than two weeks ago, and empowers civilian and military security forces to act against any elements pursuing terror or fear by treating them as foes. The security forces have also been empowered to act against criminal syndicates with the required degree of force; police working is to be streamlined by setting up specialised stations to deal with particular categories of crime, and foreign persons, notably those engaged in unlawful activities, are to be acted against.



We would agree, beyond dispute, that the breakdown of the law, the increase in crimes such as abduction for ransom and, of course, militancy have become possibly the most pressing problem of our nation and its people. Normal life has been affected, insecurity exists everywhere. While the protection of life and security is, of course, the primary function of the state, our specific situation perhaps, required new laws to reinforce this point. The primary question though is just how well these can be implemented. This is an issue we have come up against time and again in the past.

It is crucial that the new commitment shown by the government to creating order and tackling crime be backed by an ability to work on the measures laid down by the legislation, with all forces provided the backing they need to combat crime we see in so many different forms. Intelligence networks, too, need to play their part and the true test of the government will come in whether it is able to convert what it has penned down on paper into reality on the ground, so that we are able to witness actual change.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd, 2013.

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