The country witnessed one of the worst terrorist attacks on December 16 when Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan gunmen stormed Army Public School and massacred 150 people, mostly school children in a revenge attack for ongoing military operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan.
The civil-military leadership, in shock after the butchery, vowed to take strict action against the militants. Leaders met today in Islamabad to discuss the progress made so far in chalking out the national action plan against terrorism.
Addressing the participants, the premier said the nation was looking towards the political and military leadership for strong measures against those who killed the future of Pakistan.
“We are in an extraordinary situation and we need to take extraordinary actions; this nation and history will not forgive us if we don’t do anything now,” he said, adding that the people of Pakistan will not be satisfied with weak actions.
In his bid to take all the political parties into confidence, PM Nawaz said the need of the hour is to not shy from taking strong actions. “We should not wait for another tragedy to strike before we finally wake up.
“Heartless men killed our children and no religion sanctions such act,” PM Nawaz said as he asked everyone to share their concerns and suggestions so the policy can move forward.
Admitting that militancy cannot be tackled alone by an operation in one area, the prime minister stressed that a “Zarb-e-Azb” is needed in other parts of Pakistan against those who are destabilising the country from inside.
The premier further praised the new setup in Afghanistan and told the participants that both the countries have agreed to not let their territories used by terrorists.
“We agreed that we will talk about our problems rather than start a blame game,” he said, adding that operation by Afghan forces in areas bordering Pakistan proves they are serious about addressing this issue.
Military courts or 'special tribunals'?
Later on in the afternoon, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan announced his support for military courts.
Imran said that these courts should try terrorists within a specific time frame.
PML-Q’s General Secretary Mushahid Hussain also announced his support for the establishment of military courts.
“PM, we are behind you. Establish military courts, it’s time to act. The US also established these courts,” said Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed.
Leadership of the Qaumi Watan Party also said it supports military courts given the “extraordinary circumstances”.
Further, president of National Party Hasil Khan Bizenjo backed the establishment of military courts saying, “We have to fight the mind and if we stop now, we will fail forever. If we lose, the next rulers will be Taliban."
Meanwhile, PML-Zia Ijazul Haq said military courts were the only solution to curbing terrorism.
However, PPP's Senator Aitzaz Ahsan was a little more cautious about the establishment of military courts. "We are for speedy punishments for the terrorists and if the draft legislation for military courts is shared with us we can work out a way within Constitution and law,” he said.
However, the PPP later endorsed the creation of 'special tribunals' which will be manned by military officers. The decision came after Aitzaz conferred with PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari and announced his support of military courts but only under a new name.
PPP also endorses consensus of APC on establishment of special courts for speedy trials of terrorists, after telephonic ok from Asif Zardari
— Mushahid Hussain Sayed (@Mushahid) December 24, 2014
Following the PPP, the ANP, which had previously opposed the idea of military courts, backed 'special tribunals' manned by military officers.
ANP's Ghulam Ahmed Bilour had previously sought two days for consultation over the matter.
On Wednesday evening, he, like the PPP, endorsed the idea of military court but under a new name.
"We will support military courts if they are supported by legal and constitutional experts of all parties,” said JUI-F leader Fazlur Rehman.
Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif will also brief the leaders about the security challenges faced by the country before the start of the meeting, while Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan will inform the participants about the progress made so far in terms of chalking out the action plan.
Govt convinces MQM to back 'special tribunals'
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which was the last party among parliamentary parties opposing the formation of military courts to try terrorists, has agreed to the military manned 'special tribunals'.
Prime Minister Nawaz had in a statement reiterated that without consensus and finalising proposals, no one will leave the parliamentary meeting.
“We can’t go out of this meeting without consensus and we will not leave without final consensus.”
MQM, along with the PPP and the ANP had opposed the idea of military courts. But the PPP and the ANP had later recanted after it was decided to rename them as 'special tribunals.'
Sources said that PM Nawaz Sharif had assigned Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to contact MQM Altaf Hussain and convince him to back the special tribunals.
MQM's support secure, a draft will be finalised for establishment of military courts in the country.
The PM said “ Our collective wisdom and forceful decisions to eliminate terror from our home land will be a tribute to our martyrs who gave their lives in this war."
APC ends with unanimity on all issues, all reservations removed, special courts will be for specific timeframe targeting hardened terrorists
— Mushahid Hussain Sayed (@Mushahid) December 24, 2014
The meeting of parliamentary leaders is now over after a marathon 11 hours. The premier is expected to announce the finalised proposals during an address to the nation later on Wednesday.
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COMMENTS (33)
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Malik Ishaq has been released.
A. Why is there a news black out on this?
B. What does it tell us about the state's commitment to fight terror?
@Paindoo: Sorry dear, this is not a prime minister with absolute majority but with absolute stealth and theft therefore is not serious in doing things seriously. Try to demoralise these thieves so that they leave us. please look Molana abdul aziz videos altgther, he surely is connected with taliban as their one of the main leaders who was not ready to condemn taliban's action of 16th december, but shortly condemned it then and then we heard press conference of ch.Nisar who says that i know him personally and his father was a great patriot. we are deliberately don't want to see Taliban.
You'll Sir are beyond being forgiving........your sins are multiple.
To the people who are saying they want action are you thick in head to think every action needs plan first. If you are that genuis why dont you go and fight with talibans? Its not something that gov and army can do in one week!
And those morons who are calling PML N supporter "paid troll" get a life! Like imran khan didnt pay his "supporters"
@Now I support PML N: Ha ha ha, you will repent again! This is just a PHOTO OPPORTUNITY PMLN was desperate for last few months. "In Control" pictures are very very important for these public leaders. Nothing will come out of this. Pak Army has actually taken over and is doing its job. Zara-e-Azb in Punjab is no easy matter!
History will already not forgive you for wasting precious time in trying to negotiate wiyh the butchers. You could have saved thousands of lives by taking decisive action right away.
PM NS just seem to have woken up from long slumber due to the shell shock received from ASP. This action was due from the day you Mr PM NS took over, but you had misplaced priorities like metros etc; It is overtime now for concrete action. NACTA should be made operational immediately & funds released immediately. National Internal Security Policy ( NISP 2014 ) was till 16 Dec, 14 on paper only, make it a sacrosanct document, with immediate effect & Anti-Terror Courts to effectively deal with terror related case, not criminal cases as it is being done now. For Criminal related cases, there is criminal courts, so why criminal cases are lodged in ATC ? All those criminal cases should be returned to criminal courts & only terror related cases should be taken up. There are many loopholes due to which the main purpose of ATC is diluted & actual terrorists are on bail, while criminals cases are taken up.Even IK / TuQ are nominatd in ATC court case ? what a joke ? ATA laws & new PATA 2014, must be amended because these are overlapping. Draconian clauses which were removed due to political pressure must be inserted back. Unless, we are sincere in tackling this scourge of terrorism with definite will, we are doomed for good. If not today, never. We should take advantage of the present passion, world sympathy & the public outrage & do what is to be done, not one will go against the STEPS required to fight this menace.
In addition to failure to take steps to end the scourge of terrorism in Pakistan, there are many other things like corruption, nepotism and mis-governmance that the nation will not forgive you, and other corrupt politicians for. How come when it is a question of signing contracts that bring side income, the only persons that you consult are your brother and other close relatives, but in matters which may involve taking decisions which could invite retaliation from terrorists, you involve all the parliamentary parties, the army and the intelligence agencies; in fact the whole nation.
And when you say "We should not wait for another tragedy to strike before we finally wake up," the ugly truth is that you have already slept over the issue for eighteen months, while PPP government is to blame for the earlier criminal negligence. Tracing it back, we find the real culprit to be Gen. Ziaul Haq who landed us in this trouble, with subsequent government just promoting the pattern instead trying to curb the spread of extremism and terrorism though Gen. Pervez Musharraf did try to curb terrorism and extremism.
The Parliamentary Parties have played their part and it is now up to the government to muster the courage and do the needful. The parties were nearly unanimous on most points and even some disagreement on military courts has been narrowed down now. Now, instead of wasting time trying to convince the dissenting parties, the government should enact the necessary legislation in consultation with legal experts and ensure that it has built-in safeguards which make it applicable only to terrorists that it is intended for and is not used in a whimsical manner against political opponents or others.
While armed forces are playing their part well and are achieving spectacular success, it is now for the civilian government to do its duty. And now that it has been given thorough input by the Parliamentary Parties, and various writers and experts in the field, there is no excuse now for not doing all that needs to be done. Briefly, the government needs to act firmly on::
MadrassasWhile the great majority of the Madrassas are doing a good job, the errant ones need to be probed deeply and corrective action taken despite the stiff resistant it will face.
Hate-mongering.Spreading of hate material in all forms: spoken as well as written, must be banned with strict punishment for those involved in this activity. All people in Pakistan should be able to follow their religion and sect, without fear, and any one found creating rifts and hatred for other religions/sects must be dealt with severely. Strict control should also be maintained on what the Khateebs preach in the millions of mosques in Pakistan, starting with Lal Masjid.
3, All Sectarian and militant outfits, wherever placed, should be disbanded, even if they are keeping a low profile at present.
If Sharif Brothers do not have the courage to do what needs doing, it would be better for them to pack up and go back to their cosy nests abroad, and enjoy the massive wealth they have already accumulated because the alternative would be to get thrown out. The nation is no longer prepared to accept their play-safe policy of taking the line of least resistance with the home-province based extremists and terrorist outfits and other dubious pressure groups.
Karachi
History will never forgive us if we dont sack CORRUPT politicians and bring about a REAL change that will trash this corrupt system that manufactures corrupt personalities in a conveyor belt called RULERS!
What about 12 may Terrorist?
@Now I support PML N: You are not doing your job well. People can tell that you have been paid. :P
Ban the madrassahs or regulate them. Bring maulvis as well as mosques under single authority control and ban religious entities from entering in politics. Impose strict laws to control religious exploitation by illiterate and ineligible so called maulanas and their mobs.
Ex PM, history will not forgive you for massive election fraud either. Your speaker's vote bags were recounted today -- he won't be speaking much anymore based on the trash that was found stuffed inside!!!
GONE NAWAZ GONE!
History will never forget the jokes you made with Imran Khan soon after the disaster.
Stop talking Start implementing things and produce some effective results !!!
Nation would salute you for this noble deed.
I will forgive and forget all your ineptitude and irregularities if you follow through and eliminate terrorism, extremism and corruption from Pakistan. You will rightly then be the second coming of the Quaid of Pakistan.
But, show results through action not rhetoric!
@Now I support PML N: plz highlight the vision peoples wants to be benefited from it,
History will not forgive you ANYWAYS Mr. Nawaz.
PM NS just seem to have woken up from long slumber due to the shell shock received from ASP. This action was due from the day you Mr PM NS took over, but you had misplaced priorities like metros etc; It is overtime now for concrete action. NACTA should be made operational immediately & funds released immediately. National Internal Security Policy ( NISP 2014 ) was till 16 Dec, 14 on paper only, make it a sacrosanct document, with immediate effect & Anti-Terror Courts to effectively deal with terror related case, not criminal cases as it is being done now. For Criminal related cases, there is criminal courts, so why criminal cases are lodged in ATC ? All those criminal cases should be returned to criminal courts & only terror related cases should be taken up. There are many loopholes due to which the main purpose of ATC is diluted & actual terrorists are on bail, while criminals cases are taken up.Even IK / TuQ are nominatd in ATC court case ? what a joke ? ATA laws & new PATA 2014, must be amended because these are overlapping. Draconian clauses which were removed due to political pressure must be inserted back.
Unless, we are sincere in tackling this scourge of terrorism with definite will, we are doomed for good. If not today, never. We should take advantage of the present passion, world sympathy & the public outrage & do what is to be done, not one will go against the STEPS required to fight this menace.....NOW or NEVER!
plz be aside now, police and democracy always come to rescue offenders in this very state
@Now I support PML N
LOL everyone can buy you with a plate of biryani :)
What about the atrocities done by arm forces and politicians Would that be forgiven? ??
@Now I support PML N: I'm sure you did son, now please go look for a real job. 'Paid troll for 6 months' won't look good on your resume.
The worth of this Government can be gauged from just the phenomenal rise of LPG prices in a weeks time. Wonder how long this extra luggage will be carried by this nation and the armed forces.
This is not about justice it is about enforcing an unjust policy. A policy that shows leniency to some whilst punishing others.
When it comes to Raymond Davis and the beloved of our Govt. its all about mercy, forgiveness & finding them away out at any cost.
The CORRUPT politicians have caused more death, suffering & injustice than anyone. When will they face the full justice of the law?
I voted Imran khan yet i repent for the mistake I did. Great PM you have the vision to lead Pakistan. May God bless you from Evils.
What kind of idiotic statement is this? Who is he telling the nation will not forgive them? Is he talking to himself? Why does this guy do nothing but talk out loud everyday?
This guys is just talking, wasting nation time, show us some action, tell us what u did not what u r going to do,, where is results
Take some concrete steps already. You are PM with absolute majority, act like one!
It is time to walk the talk, The government must not lose an instant in taking stringent measures against terrorism and should not waste time in just mere committees and APCs. The time for talks is over NOW!
Please step aside for the time being and let the Army do their job...
Please Mr PM instead of forming committees and taking other parliamentarians into confidence, please take some credible action. We already have too little confidence left in you and it'll be gone altogether.