Pakistan has been facing the issue of terrorism since it entered into the war on terrorism right after the tragedy of 9/11. Since 2004, several operations have been conducted against terrorist groups located in the Waziristan belt in FATA. As a reaction, Pakistan has been facing suicide attacks not only in its peripheries but right in the urban areas, with terrorists attacking hospitals, schools, government installations, infrastructure and human beings — men, women and children — with impunity. With no clear counterterrorism policy in the past, except for ill-planned military operations in the northern belt, the security situation has further worsened, resulting in the increase in suicide attacks, internal displacements and economic losses.
The broad-based counterterrorism policy, taking the issue holistically, came into being in 2014. The attack on the Army Public School that killed more than 145 children and adults proved to be a turning point for Pakistan’s counterterrorism policy. As a reaction to the incident, the public opinion forced the government to bring the National Action Plan (NAP), aimed at countering terrorists militarily, economically, politically, religiously, and by building a counter-narrative. It has been more than two years since NAP is in place, and it is high time that Pakistan’s counterterrorism policy was evaluated.
Even before NAP, Pakistan launched a full-fledged military operation in North Waziristan, which was named the Operation Zarb-e-Azb. Broadly, it has been a successful operation that weakened and degraded terrorists’ safe havens in North Waziristan. Around 90 percent of the area has been cleared of terrorist groups. Although it was a successful strategy it had some weak points. The operation was launched with delays that allowed terrorist groups based in North Waziristan to flee to Afghanistan. Mullah Fazlullah and his Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is a case in point. Had the operation not been delayed amidst the common perception of its happening soon, military forces could have captured Mullah Fazlullah and broken the TTP network. Now the same Fazlullah and his TTP are attacking Pakistan from Afghanistan, and have launched several deadly suicide attacks.
The corollary to the Operation Zarb-e-Azb is the border-control management between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The long, porous border between the two countries allows terrorist groups from Afghanistan to conduct attacks in Pakistan. Another issue is that this unmanned border allows terrorists to freely move between eastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, thereby limiting the gains of the military operation. In this regard, Pakistan has adopted the right policy of managing its border, albeit at the cost of its relations with Afghanistan.
It has been reported that a long and deep trench has been made along the border, as bordering it permanently with walls and gates is not feasible given the 2,200-kilometre long, porous and mountainous terrain. Afghanistan needs to understand that the border management is the common factor benefiting both the countries. In this regard, there needs to be strong communication and coordination with the Afghan government to remove misunderstandings and concerns Afghanistan have regarding the border issue.
Following NAP, Pakistan has taken some very important steps: 1) Rangers deployment in Karachi 2) Combing operations all over Pakistan 3) Anti-terrorism laws. It is common knowledge that Karachi had become one of the most dangerous places of the country before the Rangers were deployed there by the federal government in consultation with the provincial government. The Rangers operation in Karachi proved successful as is reflective by the semblance of peace and security in the city. Since 2013, there has been a sharp reduction in target killings and other crimes. A sense of security brings with it economic growth, spurred by foreign direct investment and internal investments. Therefore, the operation is laudable, and the credit goes to the federal and provincial governments, along with the Rangers and the police. Having been a success in Karachi, such operations, though ‘combing’ in nature, have been launched throughout the country.
In line with the counterterrorism policy, some important legislation was made. The acts such as POPA 2014 and amendments in Section 21 of the Anti-Terrorist Act were passed to assist law-enforcement agencies. Moreover, the 21st amendment was passed, which constitutionalised the creation of military courts parallel to the regular judiciary. Although such legislative measures were contravening some fundamental rights, yet they were need of the hour as Pakistan had been going through a situation that required emergency measures. However, POPA is not in force, and the 21st amendment is about to reach its expiration date due to the sunset clause, but we have not put in any effort to reform our judicial system within two years as was decided while passing the 21st amendment.
However, all is not good in Pakistan’s counterterrorism policy. The problem lies with Pakistan’s attitude towards the very problem of terrorism. Basically, Pakistan’s policy is reactive in nature: it only acts in response to the incident/event rather than adopting a pro-active approach to deal with the issue of terrorism. It has been more than two years since NAP was passed, but the major steps as decided under the plan have not been implemented. It was the Quetta attack on August 8 that nudged the government, and a committee has been made to oversee the implementation of NAP.
There are still some issues that are not taken up by government: a) Madrassa reforms, b) Fata reforms, c) No differentiation among terrorist groups, d) Reforming judicial system, e) Reforming civil law enforcement agencies, and f) Rehabilitative efforts. Until all of the 20-point agenda under NAP is not achieved, the problem of terrorism would continue to haunt Pakistan.
The writer is a political analyst. He can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter at @hassanshahjehan