Youm-i-Ali went without any incident, but not all days are Youm-i-Ali
The failure by the terrorists to strike on Youm-i-Ali should not provide a false sense of security to the government. Maintaining security on the day was no doubt a big challenge. With the TTP, Punjabi Taliban and foreign terrorist networks routed in NWA and their strongholds destroyed, they are desperate to avenge the defeat and to assert their existence. There were reports that the terrorist networks were making preparations to launch deadly attacks on Youm-i-Ali. The sectarian terrorists which have presence in all the four provinces were particularly keen to target processions planned for Sunday.
The preparations this year to meet the terrorist challenge on Youm-i-Ali therefore surpassed all previous records. Besides the normal deployment of police and imposition of Section 144, there was ban on pillion riding while mobile phone service was also suspended in a number of cities. In Punjab, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Jhang and Multan were declared sensitive districts. In Lahore, Metro bus service was partially suspended, 14 places along the route of the procession were declared highly sensitive and snipers were deployed on 27 buildings. The situation was monitored through 170 CCTV cameras installed at different points of the route while walkthrough gates had also been installed.
Unprecedented security arrangements all over country foiled the terrorists’ plans. What needs to be realised is that the terrorist networks maintain presence all over the country and constitute a permanent threat while the level of preparedness witnessed on Sunday cannot be maintained every day. There is a dire need under the circumstances to improve the coordination between the numerous intelligence agencies in the country. Equally important is to improve the intelligence gathering system in the police stations.
A serious problem was created when a possessive Interior Minister Ch Nisar Ali Khan brought National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA) under his control whereas it was visualised as a department under the prime minister in the original NACTA law. Ch Nisar then transferred the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) to NACTA despite strong opposition from intelligence agencies and former civil servants. This created hurdles in NCMC’s coordination with different government departments. The recent ruling by Islamabad High Court has once again placed NACTA under the prime minister which would hopefully revive the suspended coordination. The decision should also help activate the Directorate of Internal Security (DIS) to strengthen coordination between military and civilian agencies. The absence of DIS from the scene has badly affected the government’s ability to deal with terrorist threats.