Anti-terror plan execution: ‘We won’t ban any group under foreign pressure’

Interior minister claims security situation is improving

ISLAMABAD:

While clarifying that the government has not outlawed any group after the December 16 APS Peshawar attack, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Wednesday that Pakistan would not take such action under US or Indian pressure.

“Yes we are a signatory to the UN Charter and we will devise a policy on this topic; [But] so far, we have only added 10 organisations – proscribed by the UN – to our watch list,” he said while briefing the lower house of parliament on the execution of the National Action Plan against terrorism.

Lawmakers from opposition parties had already boycotted the proceedings to protest the government’s taxation policy.

Nisar said there were 60 banned groups in Pakistan while the number of organisations proscribed by the UN is 177. “However, we will not declare any organisation unlawful under pressure from the US or India,” he added.

Nisar, however, acknowledged that there was some confusion on the issue which would be removed in the coming days. “A cell is working on this issue in the interior ministry. We will bring all proscribed organisations in our schedule,” he added.

A day earlier, Nisar had directed the interior ministry to coordinate with the ministry of foreign affairs and reconcile the national list of proscribed organisations under the recommendations set by the UN Security Council.

Nisar criticised the PPP-led previous government for not taking measures to tackle the menace of terrorism, saying that the incumbent government first tried to engage militants in dialogue and then decided to launch a military operation after taking all stakeholders on board.

The minister claimed that security situation was improving and the frequency of terror incidents had reduced as efforts were under way to make the intelligence-gathering system coordinated and effective.

Nisar said complete peace could, however, only be restored in the country once we eliminated the terrorist leadership. “These terrorist leaders have managed to escape from Pakistan’s border area adjacent to Afghanistan,” he said. Twenty-two terrorists have been executed thus far, while another 17 death-row cases were under process.

Talking about the military courts, Nisar said the interior ministry had referred 20 cases to the Pakistan Army for trial, but after scrutiny by the Judge Advocate General Branch – army’s legal division – 12 cases were identified for trial in these courts.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2015.