Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif has instructed the Punjab government to strengthen its Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) through capacity building and skill development. The bar on recruitment has been lifted and new personnel with high commitment are going to be employed. The PM has shown dissatisfaction with the present working of the law enforcement agencies. Neither the manpower nor the abilities of those presently serving matches the challenge confronting the country, said the PM. According to him the inadequate performance of the civilian law enforcement agencies had led to the poor law and order situation in the country, raising the need to get the army’s support every now and then. In order to ensure the officers of the CTD are at par with the challenges, it has been decided to get them trained by the army. The PM has assured the Punjab government all kinds of assistance to bolster the CTD. The CTD has been empowered to seek real-time data from the mobile companies without routing it through the ISI. The PM had also asked the government to prepare Plan-B in case the present strategy to fight militancy fails to deliver. It is pertinent to note that the PML-N government is conducting secret talks with the Taliban to bring about peace through dialogue and an alternative plan could be adopted for a swift response in case of any breakdown in negotiations. An important part of the CTD’s activities would be its de-radicalisation programme.
The roots of religious militancy are strong in Punjab. According to independent research, out of 243 religious organizations, some 219 have their headquarters in Punjab. The Punjabi Taliban were raised in southern Punjab. The Jamat-ud-Dawa’s centre is located at Muridke on the outskirts of Lahore. Jhang is the hometown of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, busy exterminating the Hazara Shias in Quetta. Though the Chief Minister Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif, in his previous tenure had saved Punjab from the militants’ wrath by saying he agreed with their viewpoint, now it seems the PML-N, shouldered with bigger responsibilities both at the Centre and in Punjab, has realized that it cannot be business as usual and that it needs to decipher the true nature of the enemies the country is confronted with. Therefore the need to plug the bases of terrorism in Punjab simultaneously with taking care of the affliction in the rest of the country. Terrorism is no more a simple game of a few skirmishes; it has turned into sophisticated asymmetrical warfare, where unfortunately our law enforcement agencies have faltered owing to obsolete manpower, outdated equipment and methods. The initiative taken by the Punjab government is indeed heartening and the federal government should encourage other provinces to replicate the effort. *