ISLAMABAD: Under the provisions of Pakistans National Action Plan (NAP) 16,344 operations have been conducted and 12,462 arrests made to counter terrorism since January this year as per a report presented to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday, 13 Feb. Government officials revealed on Sunday, 15 Feb that over 600 hardcore terrorists have been arrested over the past seven weeks alone. Cases of these terrorists who carry an aggregate bounty of Rs 271 million would be sent to the military courts, a senior official of the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta) was quoted as saying.
NAP- is a twenty point programme aimed at rooting out terrorism from Pakistan. It came into force after the 21st Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan in the aftermath of the deadly attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar last December.
Amid escalating pressure from opposition parties for speeding up action against proscribed religious groups, government officials revealed on Sunday that as part of the ongoing countrywide crackdown over the past seven weeks, 600 arrests have been made of those categorised by military and civilian agencies as jet-black terrorists. Their cases are to be sent to the interior ministry with a recommendation for trials in military courts, officials say. Of these 600-plus terrorists, 320 belong to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), while 311 have links with Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Muhammad and Hizb-ut-Tahrir.
Parliamentary parties in Pakistan are however, upset about what they call lack of clarity in the governments approach. Last month, media reports claimed that the government had also outlawed the Haqqani Network and Jamaat-ud-Dawa. Besides, the interior minister said that Pakistan would reconcile its list of banned groups with that of the United Nations. However, the Interior Minister- Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan denied in a policy statement on the floor of parliament that the government had banned any organisation since the devastating attack on December 16 on the students and staff of Army Public School in Peshawar. He made it clear that no group would be outlawed under pressure from America or India.
Officials admit that most of the special committees tasked with ensuring swift execution of NAP have failed to meet the targets set for them. A senior official of the Intelligence Bureau added that one of the committees, responsible for making recommendations on how to deal with sectarian terrorism, could not even hold its first meeting.
The poor performance of these committees has upset political parties. Dr Nafisa Shah of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party said the government was undermining the authority of parliament by keeping it in the dark on this important national issue. We dont know the exact status of NAP or how it is being executed, she said.
The parliamentary parties suggest the government take indiscriminate action against all proscribed groups including those which have resurrected under different names. They were particularly incensed by public rallies staged by some banned groups on February 5 in the federal capital.
We are in a state of war and we cannot live in a state of denial, said Senator Afrasiab Khattak of the Awami National Party (ANP). He claimed that all banned outfits were headquartered in Punjab where they were operating under different names. He further claimed that terror kingpins were also sheltering in Punjab the province where the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is in power.
PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar said clarity in policy was necessary. He called upon the government to take action against all militant groups.
Officials had said earlier this month that security agencies launched a targeted operation against supporters and abettors of terror outfits as part of NAP. Such terrorists, including banned outfits, had been under surveillance in South Punjab and parts of interior Sindh which have been identified as the strongholds of groups and individuals supporting several militant outfits, they said.
According to media reports in Pakistan, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan is expected to give the final word on whether the cases of these 600-plus terrorists would be sent to the military courts or to anti-terrorism courts set up under the Pakistan Protection Act. The interior minister, accompanied by Nacta Chairman Hamid Ali Khan, is reportedly preparing to fly to the United States to attend an international counterterrorism summit.
A parliamentary panel, headed by Senator Tahir Hussain Mashhadi of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), summoned the IG Punjab on Monday, 16 Feb after expressing displeasure over the activities of banned outfits in the province on February 5. The panel also sought details of the Islamic seminaries receiving funds from abroad.
Sources in the interior ministry say some political parties have voiced concerns over controversial provisions of the NAP- including functioning and scope of the military courts, and action against militant groups, banned outfits, seminaries and hate literature. A senior official in the interior ministry says efforts are underway to map the forward plan of NAP to be proposed to the PM. The ministry plans to present two fresh pieces of legislation and seek further budgetary allocations to implement NAP.
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