After a delay of almost three years, the federal cabinet finally approved the draft bill of National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), paving the way for establishment of an institution that would be able to formulise state policies to counter terrorism.
The authority, when formed, would also help improve coordination among provincial governments and intelligence agencies, undertake research and devise long-term policies to defeat the terrorist mindset, Pakistan Today has learnt reliably.
NACTA BILL: A source in the federal cabinet said the envisioned authority might also suggest changes in curriculum, dramas and films while it could also suggest introducing modern education in religious seminaries to counter extremism and terrorism – a daunting task that could not be achieved during the regime of former dictator General Pervez Musharraf, who made a failed attempt to regulate religious seminaries and amend the curriculum to get rid of the hate material against various sects of Islam, the source added.
He said the NACTA bill, if approved by both Houses of parliament, would also bring into effect administrative measures to tighten the noose around the terrorist elements and eliminate foreign terrorists from the country who have been time and again released by courts after being caught red-handed – thanks to the legal lacunae and procedural flaws.
“The cabinet has approved the NACTA bill draft which was being awaited since long,” Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira told reporters following the crucial cabinet meeting.
Kaira said Pakistan was facing terrorism and all institutions were striving to curb the menace, but there was a need for more coordination among the institutions fighting terrorism. The NACTA Bill had been awaiting its statutory status since December 2009 and could only come about if the government finalised the bill, which had been left at the mercy of a dissenting three-member ministerial committee formed by former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.
Senator Raza Rabbani, a key PPP leader and then minister, along with some other senior party leaders, had objected to the bid by Interior Minister Rehman Malik to head the authority. They believed NACTA should be under the direct control of the prime minister and not under a “controversial” minister.
Election Reforms: The cabinet also approved a bill to bring amendments to election laws with respect to the 18th Amendment by increasing the expenditure of election for National Assembly (NA) candidates and MPAs.
Kaira said the cabinet considered and accorded its approval for the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill 2012. Pursuant to Article 219 as amended vide constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010, some consequential amendments were required to be made in the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1976 and the Senate (Election) Act, 1975 to bring the provisions of the said statutes in conformity with the provisions of the constitution. Kaira said besides these, the situation in Gaza and Syria were also discussed at length. The minister said the cabinet also accorded approval for the establishment of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto University at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Islamabad. He said the prime minister also instructed that a summary be sent to the cabinet for improvement of emergency ward of PIMS.
Kaira said the cabinet gave its approval for signing an agreement on security cooperation between Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Islamic Republic of Iran, adding that it also considered and approved in principle to start negotiation on the agreement for establishment of Joint Ministerial Commission on Economic Cooperation between Pakistan and Tanzania.
The minister said the cabinet approved signing of export credit facility for the import of urea fertiliser between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and signing of agreement with the government of Vietnam for cooperation in the field of sports. The cabinet also approved the draft bill regarding establishment of Global Change Impact Studies Centre (GCISE) as an autonomous body under the administrative control of Ministry of Climate Change through an act of parliament.
He said the cabinet also approved signing of the letters of exchange between Ministry of Defence and NATO.
To a question, the minister said the President’s House was misused for conspiring against democratic governments in the past, but the incumbent president had strengthened democracy by empowering parliament and giving up his discretionary powers voluntarily.
He said he could not understand whether the country needed a democratic president or a “conspirator president”.
Kaira also welcomed a recent statement by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, saying something positive about President Zardari should be appreciated.
Commenting on PTI chief Imran Khan’s criticism, Kaira said, “We are political forces and will have to coexist and cannot always point guns at each other.”