NAP:Bigger Responsibilities Lie Ahead
Pakistan has been a victim of the scourge of terrorism&violent extremism for more than one& a half decade now.The country has suffered heavy losses both physically &economically in its fight 2eliminate this menace.
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Despite being faced by a plethora of challenges including limited resources, Pakistan has made great headway in its bid to root out the terrorism and extremism from its soil.
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In fact, it is the only country in the world, which has successfully executed counterterrorism military operations inside its own boundaries, and brought normalcy back to the affected areas, in such a short span of time.
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In spite of these achievements, much is still required to be done. Employing both kinetic as well as non-kinetic means is the need of the hour.
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In this regard, Pakistan military’s kinetic and intelligence based operations against terrorist outfits should be followed by active political and civil engagements, in order to fill the vacuum on ground, and prevent any future mishap from occurring.
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The recent terrorist incidents are a reminder that the fight against the faceless enemy is far from over, and only by investing on the people, especially in the domain of education and health, can true progress be achieved.
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The nation can never forget the horrific tragedy of the Army Public School in Peshawar, which resulted in the martyrdom of 133 school children, in 2014.
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Unambiguously, this terrorist attack strengthened the entire nation’s resolve to stand united and undeterred against such recreant brutality.
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Following this incident, political and institutional differences were shunned for the common goal of rooting out terrorism from the country.
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In this regard, a ‘20 Point Action Plan’ was put in force, after it was adopted in the Parliament as the ‘National Action Plan’ (NAP). It symbolized the national consensus to achieve this goal.
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December 2020 will mark six years since its initiation. It is significant that a critical appraisal of this much-hyped plan is done in a timely manner to identify the shortcomings, and achieving desired results.
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Furthermore, it will help evaluate the new dimensions that have since been added to the NAP.
Unfortunately, still no follow-up mechanism for determining the transparency as well as its pace, has been implemented to monitor its progress.
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Out of the 20 core points, the most significant one which has also been raised by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), is regarding the containment of the finances of terrorist networks by cracking down on their funding chains.
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The FATF is of the view that it needs to be revisited in the light of ‘strategic deficiencies’. The country is also in danger of being placed on the FATF’s grey list, which of course does not bode well for the efficacy of the National Action Plan.
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Pakistan as a state needs to take concrete steps to cut down the monetary supply to terrorist organizations.
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Although to a large extent, Pakistan has made timely efforts to comply with the demands of FATF by tracing suspicious transactions, and halting registration of suspicious firms to curb money-laundering activities.
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Therefore, in order to avoid any embarrassment on international level, it is important for relevant quarters to implement the national action plan by addressing the highlighted strategic deficiencies by the FATF.
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The continuing re-emergence of banned outfits under different flags are adding to the impediments in the way of the successful implementation of the NAP.
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Keeping in view diverse culture &nature of Pakistani society,it is imperative 4 govt 2 understand the root causes of terrorism& violent extremism that r deeply entrenched in social inequality, political instability,rising inflation, &disgruntled youth.
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These elements as a fodder for anti-state elements are used to carry out their heinous objectives, and ideology.
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If not addressed properly and provided adequate provision of services and resources, in the post-conflict period, these elements can undo the progress and objectives.
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It is therefore suggested that NAP should constitute a post-war clause that aims at the reconstruction, rehabilitation, capacity building, employment and improvement of the local population.
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Little has been achieved where the other core points of NAP such as propagation of hate speech, sectarianism, resolving Afghan refugee issue, and empowering of the Baloch government is concerned.
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Similarly,little has been done to encourage the end of religious extremism &the protection of minorities. Pakistan has an abysmal record of the protection of its minorities &indiscriminate use of laws to persecute them which is nothing but disgraceful.
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Furthermore, the process of integrating Madrassah in the National Education Framework is in process albeit slowly. According to NACTA, there are 32,272 religious seminaries operating in Pakistan.
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In Punjab and Sindh, the 100 per cent details of Madrassas have been recorded, whereas 80 per cent work has been done in KPK and Baluchistan till December 2018.
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There are certain structural deficiencies in the management of the NAP which need attention. Especially those which came to the forefront following the Sahiwal incident, in which personnel CTD killed 3people whom they had mistaken as members of Da’esh.
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This incident not only raised questions on the implementation mechanism of National Action Plan and the counter terrorism framework, but also calls for the need to re-vamp institutions, and maintain a check and balance on their powers.
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It also exposed a lack of information and communication asymmetry, between inter and intra organization on intelligence sharing, and conducting operations.
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Undoubtedly,operationalization of 20 points #NAP has played its role in reducing acts of violence &terrorism,but still much needs to be done. The current scenario calls for a shift in national action approach i.e.from use of ‘hard power 2soft power.’
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Today there is need to concentrate on two central themes to achieve success. First, the root causes that contribute to indoctrination and radicalization of individuals may be ascertained.
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Second, the socio-economic grievances of the population of terror affected areas need to be addressed.
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To put more precisely,the critical re-evaluation of #NAP would enable decision makers to address the weaknesses in implementation of the plan on one hand &reviewing strategy for achieving the desired target i.e. credible&sustainable peace on the other.
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Good governance, division of responsibilities and effective communication mechanism between state institutions are key to success of the NAP.
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Keeping in view the structural, financial, social & administrative determinants of the plan, the respective institutions should make all endeavours to maximize the outcome that will ultimately contribute to making #NAP, a ‘Rational Plan of Action’.
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To sum it up, the long term solution rests in the effective governance framework i.e. able to implement the policy from a mere document to practice.
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That being said, let us not forget that our courageous people and brave armed forces have laid down innumerable sacrifices for peace in Pakistan.
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Instead of our vested interests, we must prioritize national objectives,as we owe it to the martyrs.
It is high time that we as a nation must join hands to root this menace of terrorism & violent extremism plaguing the peace, & security of our country.
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National Action Plan: Bigger Responsibilities Lie Ahead
“Good governance, division of responsibilities and effective communication mechanism between state institutions are key to success of the NAP”.
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