Senate session: Nisar seeks patience, unity to fight terror
Interior minister says war against terrorists not yet over
Chaudhry Nisar. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan asked the national leadership on Monday to exercise patience and stand united because the National Action Plan (NAP) was ‘bearing good results’ but the war against terrorists was not yet over.
“This is not a PML-N or a government issue but a national issue. Though the law and order situation has improved, it has not been restored completely ... our enemies have not yet been eliminated and we have to stand united,” the interior minister told the Senate in his 68-minute speech about the achievements of NAP, which was devised and implemented after terrorists attacked the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16.
Following the briefing, the house unanimously passed a resolution that recommended the government to take ‘further’ steps to implement NAP to counter terrorism.
Initially, the ANP’s Sitara Ayaz had moved a resolution asking the government to ‘take steps’ to implement NAP, but the government raised objections over it.
Later, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani asked the treasury and opposition benches to find a middle ground on the issue by suggesting the addition of the word ‘further’.
Contentious issues
The interior minister said there were two contentious issues in NAP that related to proscribed organisations and seminaries.
“It was after NAP that Pakistan knows the number of proscribed organisations, which is 60 according to Pakistani laws and 74 as per the UN, with [12 common among them].” He said ‘all these organisations have been put on the ECL’ and are also under surveillance.
About seminaries, he said the institutions were fulfilling the state’s responsibility [of providing education] and ‘we should not point fingers at them if they are following the laws of the land’.
Regarding ban on misuse of loudspeakers, he said 4,589 cases were registered and 4,266 people arrested for hate-speach.
On the repatriation of Afghan refugees, Nisar said a policy paper had been shared with the Afghan government and a joint framework would be prepared in the next three weeks. “We don’t want to spoil our good relations with Afghanistan,” he said.
Nacta
The interior minister informed the house about a summary moved for allocation of funds for the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta). “Yes, we need money and good people.”
Regarding the Karachi operation, he said target killings had come down by 89%, murders by 38%, extortion by 37% and robberies by 23%. He said 49,669 people, including 623 hardened criminals and terrorists, were arrested.
“Over 3,000 intelligence-based operations have been carried out across the country in which 37,666 people were arrested.... In 37,000 combing operations, 725 terrorists were arrested.”
Referring to the press conference of the MQM’s Farooq Sattar, who had demanded that the port city be handed over to the military, Nisar said: “We have to take the Karachi operation to its logical end and, for that matter, all the political parties need to support it ... a timeframe cannot be given for its completion.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 5th, 2015.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan asked the national leadership on Monday to exercise patience and stand united because the National Action Plan (NAP) was ‘bearing good results’ but the war against terrorists was not yet over.
“This is not a PML-N or a government issue but a national issue. Though the law and order situation has improved, it has not been restored completely ... our enemies have not yet been eliminated and we have to stand united,” the interior minister told the Senate in his 68-minute speech about the achievements of NAP, which was devised and implemented after terrorists attacked the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16.
Following the briefing, the house unanimously passed a resolution that recommended the government to take ‘further’ steps to implement NAP to counter terrorism.
Initially, the ANP’s Sitara Ayaz had moved a resolution asking the government to ‘take steps’ to implement NAP, but the government raised objections over it.
Later, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani asked the treasury and opposition benches to find a middle ground on the issue by suggesting the addition of the word ‘further’.
Contentious issues
The interior minister said there were two contentious issues in NAP that related to proscribed organisations and seminaries.
“It was after NAP that Pakistan knows the number of proscribed organisations, which is 60 according to Pakistani laws and 74 as per the UN, with [12 common among them].” He said ‘all these organisations have been put on the ECL’ and are also under surveillance.
About seminaries, he said the institutions were fulfilling the state’s responsibility [of providing education] and ‘we should not point fingers at them if they are following the laws of the land’.
Regarding ban on misuse of loudspeakers, he said 4,589 cases were registered and 4,266 people arrested for hate-speach.
On the repatriation of Afghan refugees, Nisar said a policy paper had been shared with the Afghan government and a joint framework would be prepared in the next three weeks. “We don’t want to spoil our good relations with Afghanistan,” he said.
Nacta
The interior minister informed the house about a summary moved for allocation of funds for the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta). “Yes, we need money and good people.”
Regarding the Karachi operation, he said target killings had come down by 89%, murders by 38%, extortion by 37% and robberies by 23%. He said 49,669 people, including 623 hardened criminals and terrorists, were arrested.
“Over 3,000 intelligence-based operations have been carried out across the country in which 37,666 people were arrested.... In 37,000 combing operations, 725 terrorists were arrested.”
Referring to the press conference of the MQM’s Farooq Sattar, who had demanded that the port city be handed over to the military, Nisar said: “We have to take the Karachi operation to its logical end and, for that matter, all the political parties need to support it ... a timeframe cannot be given for its completion.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 5th, 2015.