Top civil-military huddle announces crackdown against sectarianism
Nisar says there will be zero tolerance for hate speech, hate literature, and calling each other infidels
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chairs a meeting to review progress on implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) at the PM's House in Islamabad on September 10, 2015. PHOTO: PID
ISLAMABAD:
In a high-level meeting to review progress of the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP), the country’s top civil-military leadership approved a countrywide crackdown against sectarianism.
"It was unanimously decided during the today’s meeting of the country’s top civil-military leadership that elements challenging the writ of the state would be eliminated," Nisar said during a press conference after the apex committee's meeting held at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad.
It has been decided that there will be zero tolerance for hate speech and hate literature, the interior minister said.
Read: NAP implementation: Half of all registered madrassas in Sindh geo-tagged
“There will be no tolerance for calling each other infidel or liable to be killed,” he said. “There is a very thin line between sectarianism and terrorism. They both go hand-in-hand.”
Earlier, the national apex committee met in Islamabad, where key decisions taken were accorded by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif.
The meeting discussed introducing fresh legislation, seeking to completely ban sectarianism and its financiers.
DG ISI Lt-Gen Rizwan Akhtar, DG IB, provincial chief ministers and other high-ranking officials.
The leadership of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) also attended the session to review NAP implementation.
Registration of madrassas
About seminaries, the interior minister said the process of their would continue with consultation of their leadership.
“They will first meet with federal secretary interior and then the provincial leadership,” he said, adding ulemas should portray the narrative of Islam and Pakistan rather of those who kill the innocent.
He said a joint strategy would adopted by the federal and the provincial governments to deal with several issues, i.e. NGOs, arms licences, security companies and sectarianism.
NGOs
“It is the duty of the federal government to keep an eye on international NGOs, and regulate them while at the same time, the provincial governments are also required to regulate the local NGOs, the interior minister maintained.
Nisar said the interior ministry had prepared a regulatory policy for the NGOs in a record time of just 2.5 months after PM Nawaz had announced the government’s decision to regulate the NGOs in June 2015.
“We will issue the policy soon after sharing it with provinces to help them formulate a similar policy document to regulate local NGOs.”
He, however, clarified that regulation on NGOs does not mean putting a ban on any of the good work being done by them in the country.
Arms licenses
On the issue of arms licences, the interior minister said the federal government will introduce a fresh policy for renewing the old arms licences and those who do not get their licences renewed will be cancelled.
Read: Six months on: ‘Implement National Action Plan in its true spirit’
Meanwhile, law enforcers were directed to start a campaign to purge the country of illegal weapons.
Nisar in the meeting said over 0.5 million weapons were confiscated by law enforcers during an on-going crackdown against those holding illegal weapons.
The civil-military brass also discussed the next phase of the on-going security forces’ operation against militants in the north-western areas of the country.
Earlier, Nisar was briefed on the implementation of NAP across the country by all four chief secretaries, home secretaries, interior secretaries and inspector generals of police of all the provinces who are also a part of the meeting.
During the first session of the meeting, the interior minister was shown presentations on the 20 points of the NAP implementation, prepared by the provinces.
In a high-level meeting to review progress of the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP), the country’s top civil-military leadership approved a countrywide crackdown against sectarianism.
"It was unanimously decided during the today’s meeting of the country’s top civil-military leadership that elements challenging the writ of the state would be eliminated," Nisar said during a press conference after the apex committee's meeting held at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad.
It has been decided that there will be zero tolerance for hate speech and hate literature, the interior minister said.
Read: NAP implementation: Half of all registered madrassas in Sindh geo-tagged
“There will be no tolerance for calling each other infidel or liable to be killed,” he said. “There is a very thin line between sectarianism and terrorism. They both go hand-in-hand.”
Earlier, the national apex committee met in Islamabad, where key decisions taken were accorded by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif.
The meeting discussed introducing fresh legislation, seeking to completely ban sectarianism and its financiers.
DG ISI Lt-Gen Rizwan Akhtar, DG IB, provincial chief ministers and other high-ranking officials.
The leadership of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) also attended the session to review NAP implementation.
Registration of madrassas
About seminaries, the interior minister said the process of their would continue with consultation of their leadership.
“They will first meet with federal secretary interior and then the provincial leadership,” he said, adding ulemas should portray the narrative of Islam and Pakistan rather of those who kill the innocent.
He said a joint strategy would adopted by the federal and the provincial governments to deal with several issues, i.e. NGOs, arms licences, security companies and sectarianism.
NGOs
“It is the duty of the federal government to keep an eye on international NGOs, and regulate them while at the same time, the provincial governments are also required to regulate the local NGOs, the interior minister maintained.
Nisar said the interior ministry had prepared a regulatory policy for the NGOs in a record time of just 2.5 months after PM Nawaz had announced the government’s decision to regulate the NGOs in June 2015.
“We will issue the policy soon after sharing it with provinces to help them formulate a similar policy document to regulate local NGOs.”
He, however, clarified that regulation on NGOs does not mean putting a ban on any of the good work being done by them in the country.
Arms licenses
On the issue of arms licences, the interior minister said the federal government will introduce a fresh policy for renewing the old arms licences and those who do not get their licences renewed will be cancelled.
Read: Six months on: ‘Implement National Action Plan in its true spirit’
Meanwhile, law enforcers were directed to start a campaign to purge the country of illegal weapons.
Nisar in the meeting said over 0.5 million weapons were confiscated by law enforcers during an on-going crackdown against those holding illegal weapons.
The civil-military brass also discussed the next phase of the on-going security forces’ operation against militants in the north-western areas of the country.
Earlier, Nisar was briefed on the implementation of NAP across the country by all four chief secretaries, home secretaries, interior secretaries and inspector generals of police of all the provinces who are also a part of the meeting.
During the first session of the meeting, the interior minister was shown presentations on the 20 points of the NAP implementation, prepared by the provinces.