Senator Raza Rabbani on Tuesday said not rhetorical reaction but a Pakistani narrative was needed to wriggle the country through the crises it was facing as terrorism had brought the writ of the state, the ability of the civilian government, credibility and operational capacity of state organisations responsible for national security, into question.
“This letter is of a concerned Pakistani, who is seeing the state and its constitutional structures rendered helpless at the hands of terrorism that has brought into question the writ of the state. It has brought into question the ability of the civilian government to protect the state and its citizens. It has brought into question the credibility and operational capacity of our state organizations responsible for national security,” his letter read, adding that the overall situation had generated a feeling of helplessness and despair in the people.
Rabbani, who had recently been awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz by President Asif Zardari, said, “In today’s Pakistan we have reacted through verbal rhetoric, limited display of street power and parliamentary resolutions but to no avail. They all are actions in isolation, lacking ownership of the citizens of Pakistan? It requires a Pakistani narrative in which the people feel they are fighting to protect their lives, security and sovereignty.”
Stressing the importance of the narrative, Rabbani said terrorists were operating under a particular philosophy which needed to be combated with a counter narrative because only military action in this regard would not suffice.
The PPP senator also said feeling of helplessness and despair in the people of Pakistan on the overall situation, and in particular in the state and its institutions, required an integrated national response based on strategic interests, devoid of the state of denial and for that the it was necessary that the nation, as a whole and the state institutions in particular, must have the moral courage to admit their shortfalls and the political and military establishment must take the people into confidence.
Suggesting that the above-stated objective needed a strategy, Rabbani gave a 14-point roadmap to combat terrorism internally and externally.
1- Identify Pakistan’s national interests
(i) maintain Pakistan’s territorial integrity
(ii) safeguard Pakistan’s Nuclear
(iii) prepare a national socio-economic agenda
(iv) re-prioritise resources allocation and invest in the people
(v) redefine regional and international relationship
(vi) formulate a clear policy on Afghanistan
2-develop a national counter-insurgency strategy with all stakeholders
3-identify commonality of approach with the West in the conflict on terror
4-clearly state the rules of engagement with international forces in the conflict on terror
5-move out of the state of denial, accept reality as it stands on the ground and refrain from cover-up
6-implement parliamentary resolutions and recommendations
7-a more pronounced role of parliament in policy formulations, such as hearings before the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence Committees of both the Houses, on policy and briefings on meeting of military and political leadership with visitors from abroad
8-introducing the concept of parliamentary accountability and ensuring parliament’s supremacy
9-enacting the NECTA Bill
10-amend the anti-Terror Act 1997, particularly for the affected areas
11-take concrete steps to shun the impression of a clash between various institutions of the state
12-identify, if any, internal and external terrorist groups, and not to allow the soil of Pakistan for the support of terrorism
13-the government can initiate the following measures amongst others:
(i) prime minister calls meeting of various ulemas
(ii) prime minister calls meeting with all chief ministers, chief secretaries, IGPs, ISI DG, MI DG and IB DG to build coordination in effort against internal terrorism
(iii) the ban on proscribed organisations be strictly implemented
(iv) cell to be set up at the federal level to coordinate information between the ISI, the MI, the IB and the provincial police to meet twice
(v) mass mobalisation against internal terrorism in the form of rallies/political support
(vi) the government needs to take the media, editors, anchors, civil society into confidence
(vii) SHOs to be held responsible for any act of terrorism in their areas and CID at each police station level to be revived
(viii) cell at district levels of the police, the ISI, the MI, the IB to share information with federal cell said mentioned above
(ix) Foreign Office be asked to take up a massive press offensive in the foreign media
(x) Foreign Office to brief diplomats in Islamabad on various steps being taken by the government on regular basis
(xi) Foreign Office to brief foreign capitals on the same issue
(xii) prime minister to call a meeting of the DCC along with the chief ministers
(xiii) prime minister to take the political leadership into confidence
(xiv) build high security prisons for terrorists
14-writers, intellectuals, poets, columnists, painters, artists, musicians should come forward and take part in building the counter-narrative. All cultural, literary, educational institutions may be asked to play their role in combating terrorism because they have been overlooked in the past.
