Daily Times

The Prime Minister (PM) recently advised law enforcement agencies and the military to speed up the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP), especially through the enhancing the pace of Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad (ORF). ORF was launched on February 22, 2017, after a wave of attacks rocked the country, following a period of relative calm and a rapidly improving security situation. This concentrated period of attacks notwithstanding, since 2014, Pakistan has seen some remarkable progress in terms of violence-related fatalities. According to data collected by the Center for Research and Security Studies, in 2014, 7,650 people lost their lives to violence. This number dropped by another 40 percent to 4,647 in 2015, and in 2016, it dropped another 43 percent to 2,613. All in all, the number of violence related fatalities have dropped by nearly 66 percent in the two years of the NAP.

The bulk of this improvement comes from the sprawling urban metropolis of Karachi, the hub of urban crime and political militancy in Pakistan, as well as the tribal region of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), where armed militias had dug in for a prolonged affair. In both cases, military and paramilitary forces were deployed to implement the writ of the state. In Karachi alone, 2,029 people lost their lives to violence in 2014, compared to 474 in 2016, which is a drop of nearly 77 percent. Similarly, FATA had 3,400 deaths resulted from violence in 2014, which dropped to 495 in 2016, a reduction of over 85 percent. In short, it must be said that Operation Zarb-e-Azb, designed with a particular geographic area in mind, has been incredibly successful, and has dramatically improved national security.

However, as pundits and critics lament ad nauseum, this is neither appropriate for the military, nor it is sustainable. Principally, this is the job of the civilian law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The military’s intervention, need of the hour as it may be, cannot continue endlessly. The military has been asked to intervene, because extremism in the country is manifesting itself in the form of terrorism. They can use kinetic operations to target and eliminate physical threats. However, the military can do little to address the root cause of the conflict using hard power. That is the mandate of the state organs and apparatus. In this regard, the PM asking the military to speed up their task is highly ironic.

For example, a big point of contention in the NAP is the formation of the military courts. Many view this as a parallel judicial system. Personally, I too feel that military courts should not exist. They are a national embarrassment and they reveal systemic flaws in our criminal justice system. The final point in the NAP pertains to revamping the criminal justice system to provide speedy relief to the public, and allow for rule of law to take center stage. Yet, 27 months after the enactment of the NAP, there has been next to no progress on this front. It makes it difficult then, to argue against the military courts, which even the apex court has deemed constitutional, and summarily turned down appeals of individuals convicted therein.

In addition, aside from the rapidly evolving and improving police force in the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province, there seems to be zero progress on police reforms and empowerment in the rest of the country. It is surprising to see the city of Karachi, brought back from the brink of rampant and atrocious urban crime, still has a police force that suffers from political interference, corruption, and lack of training, resources, equipment and manpower. In 2016, Punjab police suffered one of the most embarrassing situations, when their efforts to counter Choru Mazari Gang resulted in several dozen officers being taken hostage. Once again, the military intervened to save the day, for the police was inept at their core responsibility.

In another example, ORF was launched in February, after a fresh wave of attacks, and the ambit expanded to Punjab. Analysts, researchers and experts have been pointing out for years, if not decades, that there exists a real problem of radicalization and extremism in the country’s most populous province. Yet it took the government 26 months, and immense pressure from the military, to see it addressed. Further, continued patronage and favoritism of certain groups also continues to hamper efforts.

The real need of the hour is the deployment of Pakistan’s soft power against these extremist, radical ideologies. Terrorism is the manifestation, extremism is the root cause, and until we summarily address this root cause through non-kinetic, well-reasoned, well-planned, nationwide interventions with all stakeholders on board, terrorism will continue to manifest. With the induction of the new National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. (r) Nasser Khan Janjua, a logistical mastermind, there is hope that there will be an increased focus on the soft side of this struggle.

It must be said that implementation of the National Action Plan is no small feat. It is a behemoth task, compounded by nearly four decades of extremism that has seeped into the foundations of Pakistan. Cognition of the fact that it will take likely as long rid the country of this menace is important and necessary. However, it is disheartening to see nearly no progress on critical fronts that could help Pakistan win this protracted conflict.

The author serves as a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Research and Security Studies, Islamabad, is a freelance journalist, and holds a bachelor and master degree in strategic communications from Ithaca College, NY. He can be reached via zeeshan[dot]salahuddin[at]gmail.com and tweets @zeesalahuddin