The Apex Committee meeting
Ever since the military has launched an offensive against the militants after they attacked on a school in Peshawar and killed more than 150 children and staff, the incidents of terrorism have gone down considerably, in fact around 70 percent. While the strategy devised and agreed upon, called National Action Plan (NAP), covers almost all the flashpoints, implementing it has been a problem since its inception. The government has been accused of being lazy in implementing the really tough parts of the NAP. However, that seems to be changing now.
In the recently held Apex Committee meeting it has been decided to implement the parts of NAP that have not yet been brought into practice. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and attended by interior minister, COAS, heads of intelligence agencies, all chief ministers and chief secretaries, and political leadership of GB and AJK. The meeting focused on devising policies for streamlining issuance of visas to foreign students in local seminaries, and a detailed policy for private security companies working inside Pakistan. Regulating INGOs and local NGOs and import of bullet proof vehicles were also discussed in the meeting. This, along with the audit of the sources of funding for the seminaries, marks the start of the most difficult part of the NAP.
Terrorism is a menace; it has to be eradicated. No doubt about it but what needs to be made sure is that it should be eradicated in all forms and shapes. There should be no leniency awarded to those who abet, support, sympathise or finance terrorism. The same should be done with those who distort religion and create differences among various sects of the country. Zarb-e-Azb is just one part of the multi-faceted onslaught the government has initiated against the militants but it would be of no use if there are no corresponding actions taken to tackle the ideology of militants. This can be done via monitoring seminaries and bringing changes to educational curriculum. This should be the next step in NAP, however hard it may prove to be.