One can’t be sure if he even knows what his job is
The Interior Ministry continues to change its goalposts regarding the internal national security policy. For months Ch Nisar talked about coordination among intelligence agencies as the key to the end of terrorism in Pakistan. NACTA was the centrepiece of the policy. It was to be supported by a joint intelligence directorate, an internal security division, a helicopter-equipped rapid response force in the federal capital and the four provinces. Suddenly NACTA was put on the backburner because avowedly the funds required to mobilise it were not available.
Soon after the APS attack, the government announced a 20-point National Action Plan. While NACTA was again revived the emphasis was on regulating the seminaries, enacting stringent laws to protect minorities and a ban on airing the views of terrorists. The seminaries were to be registered and regulated. Those sentenced to death on terrorism charges were to be executed. There were to be military courts. Instead of concentrating on the tasks delineated in the NAP, Ch Nisar has come up with an altogether different set of priorities in the fight against terrorists.
At the White House Conference on violent extremism, the Interior Minister talked about giving top priority to strengthening local communities. Ch Nisar knows it means Local Government elections which his government has adamantly declined to hold despite the Supreme Court and ECP consistently pressing it to fulfill the constitutional requirement. The other four points were also never pressed before. These include winning the trust of mainstream peace-loving majority, building resilience in local communities against radicalisation, addressing the factors driving people to extremism and focusing on education to promote tolerance and communal harmony.
And surprise of surprises! Ch Nisar who had opposed military action against terrorists calling it an American war, now praises the US administration for its efforts to unite the world in the fight against extremism. He has made no mention of the NAP. How long will the Interior Minister go on somersaulting on an issue that touches the very existence of the country?
