It was business as usual for the terrorists despite
the Taliban leader Hakeemullah Mehsud’s interview a day earlier stating that the Tehreek-e-Taliban was open to talks with the government. Planted bombs rocked all the four provincial capitals on Thursday as terrorists showed intransigence in following their rigid agenda. A dozen people were killed and fifty were wounded in the attacks. Lahore’s Anarkali Bazaar was yet again made a target of terrorism, after a similar attack killed five people in July earlier this year. Fortuitously, the attempted attack in Karachi’s Orangi Town did not cause innocent fatalities because the three militants carrying an explosive device were killed as it exploded prematurely. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, recognizing the extent to which terrorism has eroded law and order, stated that extraordinary laws have to be enforced in order to put an end to this chaos. The Ordinance promulgated on Thursday is aimed at amending the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. With these amendments, the law enforcing authorities will now have greater authority to deal with individuals who are a threat to the security or defence of Pakistan. A dozen of these amendments are aimed at removing lacunae in the legal system, which allow criminals to get away even with crimes against the state. Both the armed forces and the civil armed forces, on the basis of credible information, have been granted the right of preventive detention of individuals involved in criminal activities for up to three months. Also, the amendments are aimed at expediting the trial of suspects in preventive detention, considering that the judicial system is already heavily clogged due to the vast number of pending cases. Protection will now be provided to witnesses, judges and prosecutors. In order to tackle the problem of a lack of evidence against criminals and terrorists, the new law will allow text messages, telephone calls, emails and other information collected electronically to be used against them in court.
These amendments are a welcome development. However, these alone are insufficient to tackle the deeper-rooted problem of extremism and militancy in Pakistan. In order to be successful in tackling this existential threat, its social, political and ideological aspects need to be addressed as well. Pakistan’s establishment has in the past supported religious militant groups in order to achieve ‘strategic depth’ in Afghanistan. This strategy has not only failed but also backfired. Not only has it caused multiple terror organizations to expand their scope of activities in the name of religion but has also played a part in galvanizing a significant proportion of Pakistan’s illiterate and impoverished youth towards extremism. Passing amendments to anti-terror laws alone will not be effective, as a new crop of terrorists will emerge even if the current lot is captured and punished. A counter-narrative is required in order to stop the exploitation of the masses in the name of religion. The affairs of the state should not be dictated by individuals having misconstrued and narrow minded religious views. Moreover, the state should be impartial and should deal with terrorists, spreading chaos in the name of religion, in an even more stringent way than criminals violating the law of the land. Religious madrassas should not be allowed to indoctrinate the impressionable youth and to spread anti-state sentiments. All citizens should be treated equally and religious bigotry should not be tolerated. The promulgation of the amended Anti-Terror Act is still the thin edge of the wedge. Nawaz Sharif stated that more changes would follow to quell terrorism and to improve law and order. He urged the provincial governments to do their bit in enforcing such changes. The government seems to be slowly realising that the whole gamut of changes need to be made in the legal, social, political and ideological spheres in order to make genuine progress against the terror engulfing Pakistan. *