Daily Times

LAHORE: Q. Who is undermining anti-terror efforts?

NACTA has to be made effective. Its governing Board, chaired by Prime Minister and staffed by top civilian and military authorities, was supposed to meet regularly, but hasn’t.

Nobody expected Operation Zarb-e-Azb to be a short term proposition. The most striking aspect of the operation was the categorical tone adopted by the Pakistan army, denouncing terrorism in all forms and manifestations. It needs to be recalled that the army had resisted the need to win back North Waziristan, which has been associated with the Haqqani group and other outfits, allegedly valued by military establishment as strategic assets.

The emergence of dharna politics immediately after the launching of operation Zarb-e-Azb dampened the focus on the menace of religious extremism. However, the Peshawar Army Public School incident in mid-December brought back the desired impetus in military action against terrorist outfits.

An important related development was the passage of the 21st constitutional amendment, ushering in military courts and an elaborate national action plan. The second phase of Operation Zarb-e-Azb in 2015 also coincided with steps against violence in Karachi.

The impact of military courts on the course of the national campaign against terrorism is yet to be seen.

However, military action has definitely disrupted the terror network, besides killing or capturing important terrorists. As of now, it appears to be a long term initiative, which will test the nerves, resolve and resources of the nation. Reportedly, large number terrorists are captured in area outside FATA and cities however, no concrete evidence has been put on record and well known terrorist assets are still at large and many groups continue to allegedly enjoy a soft corner in the echelons of power and policy.

Outlawed groups and myriad terrorist outfits have been on the national scene for too long not to be in liaison with mainstream political parties, and it is very likely that such links are still at play. Only consistent state policy can disrupt and eliminate covert threats of violence and terror.

Q. Army chief General Raheel Sharif has declared lack of progress on implementation of National Action Plan (NAP) damaging to the progress of ongoing military operation Zarb-e-Azb. Do you think he is right?

The army is visibly upset over the lack of progress on NAP, and much can be laid at the feet of the civilian authorities. The Army Chief had earlier also asked the civilian authorities to step up in November last year during the corps commanders’ conference. Criticism is a strong word, but it certainly is a shift in policy from the Army, which is doing most of the operational actions regarding NAP, seemingly not matched by similar resolve on the civilian side.

There is some investment in logistics and human resource over the years for policing and civilian law enforcement, but it fails to keep pace with the challenges faced by these entities. Besieged by resource constraints, subject to political patronage and manipulation, and resultantly poor capacity of its staff, police in Pakistan particularly need large scale re-vamping of its structure.

Q. For the purposes of intelligence sharing and logistics for Zarb-e-Azb, what kind of support are civilian law enforcement agencies receiving from the military? How can this information flow be improved?

The army is already playing a role in building the capacity of police and other law enforcement agencies across the country. In this regard, it is all set to have a dominant role in the recruitment of 20,000 police personnel who will help make Karachi more secure. The army will assist in ensuring merit-based recruitment and training, besides playing a role in equipping them with light arms. The National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA), as the mandated civilian -military interface, had earlier announced a meeting of stakeholders to prepare robust solutions for civil-military interfaces regarding security and policing. Another proposal being considered is a digitised federal crime record that would greatly help security and intelligence agencies in effectively managing operations against terrorists. NACTA can play a great role in bringing all these elements together, but it has to be made effective. Its governing Board , chaired by the Prime Minister and staffed by top civilian and military authorities, was supposed to meet regularly, but hasn’t. This needs to be improved.

Q. Has the National Action Plan completely failed in implementing point number four regarding the strengthening and activation of National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA)?

Ostensibly, NACTA was envisaged because there was a lack of coordination among security and intelligence agencies, and they needed to be brought under one umbrella, a fact that has been recognised for the first time through the statutory regulations establishing NACTA. This has been said to be a major accomplishment; even though about two dozen security agencies have been working in Pakistan related in one way or the other to the security situation, there has been little coordination between them. The NISP proposes that this duplication of roles leading to wastage of resources would be resolved through the policies and business processes put in place through NACTA. This is indeed an objective to aspire for, but it remains to be seen how this will be translated into practice.

Certainly, we need to allow NACTA some more time to establish itself; as such entities have to resolve complicated issues of turf wars between existing organizations in the state security apparatus to ensure seamless coordination. Hopefully, NACTA overcomes this soon, but it needs to now step up fairly quickly to the reputation that it needs to earn.