Daily Times Editorial Aug 15, 2013

The terrorism challenge and response In Independence Day messages, outgoing COAS General Pervez Ashfaq Kayani and Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali delineated their views on countering the terrorist threat. General Kayani, while addressing the Azadi (Independence) parade on Tuesday night, made some telling points, some familiar already. First and foremost, he was at pains to underline the need for a national consensus against terrorism so that there is no confusion in the minds of the security forces or the terrorists. Second, he emphasised the criticality of a swift implementation of the strategy made to counter the menace. Further, he said there could be two views about the best strategy for tackling terrorism, but bowing before this curse was no solution. He reminded his audience of the sacrifices made by the military in this fight (at last estimate about 5,000 casualties for the security forces) and reiterated the resolve of the armed forces to face the challenge. He also praised the spirit of the Pakistani people and their resolve to see through the crisis, which they had been doing bravely over the last 10 years (civilian casualties are estimated so far at 50,000). The outgoing COAS has been on record as saying that the internal threat to Pakistan is now greater than any external one. One hopes that his successor will continue General Kayani’s legacy of not shrinking from calling a spade a spade and seeing things from a broad perspective, cooperating all the while with the civilian elected authorities. The import of General Kayani’s message is that the war against terrorism can only be won if it has political ownership. Chaudhry Nisar on the other hand, while talking to the media on Tuesday, said the government was ready for peace or war. He then presented a timeline for the measures the government is contemplating to deal with the terrorist threat. First and foremost, the much anticipated National Security Policy (NSP), which has been in the works since the new government took over, will be presented to the prime minister within two weeks. Chaudhry Nisar said a Joint Intelligence Secretariat would be set up within eight months, on which forum all intelligence agencies, military and civilian, would coordinate. In the interim, the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), which remained moribund during the previous government’s tenure, would be strengthened through appointments to fill the gaps in its structure. This process would consume two months. A Rapid Response Force would be created with the necessary latest wherewithal at the federal level to begin with, later to be extended to the provinces. The force would consist of 500 men initially and be bolstered later to a strength of 2,000 highly trained and well equipped professionals. While another long delayed measure, the All Parties Conference (APC) is promised within August in order to forge the political consensus and ownership of the war that General Kayani wants, legislation to enable the National Security Policy (NSP) to become effective was also in preparation. If anyone has any lingering doubts about the necessity of coming together against the existential threat terrorism now poses to the country, they received a timely reminder through an attack on two Ismaili community Jamaatkhanas in Karachi on Tuesday night. One woman and a child were killed in an improvised explosive device blast in Karimabaad while 26 people suffered injuries. Three people were injured in another attack on a Jamaatkhana in Metroville, SITE. No minority, and arguably even the majority, is now safe from the unwanted attentions of the terrorists. As if this were not enough on the eve of Independence Day, the Taliban sent a warning to the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif not to execute three terrorists after the government rescinded the five-year halt to executions by the previous government through a presidential order. The order expired on June 30 and the new government says it is reviewing case by case the fate of about 8,000 condemned prisoners on death row, starting with those condemned to death by anti-terrorist courts. Hunan rights defenders at home and abroad have been dismayed by the decision to once again implement the death penalty, but their protests do not seem to have dissuaded the government from proceeding with its plans. The decision may also be viewed in the context of the Bannu (during the previous government’s tenure) and D I Khan jailbreaks, which freed hundreds of terrorist prisoners, who it is feared will now join their colleagues in renewed terrorist activities. The military wants political ownership of the war, while the political forces are divided over the right approach. Any APC therefore may find it hard to arrive at a consensus. Imran Khan's advice to the government to frame and present its NSP to the APC may therefore have weight.