Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has said that it is satisfied with the implementation of National Action Plan (NAP), as it has brought back normalcy in the terror-hit province with the arrest of thousands of suspects involved in terrorist and other criminal activities.
“We are working on NAP and committed to implement it, and it is yielding positive outcomes,” Advisor to Chief Minister on Information Mushtaq Ghani remarked in a brief interview with this correspondent. We used to have frequent meetings with the federal government but now the situation is much better, he added.
NAP was devised soon after the deadly terror attack on Army Public School Peshawar on December 16, 2014, which resulted in a loss of 142 lives, mostly students. Under the NAP, special military courts were established to deal with terrorists on an expedited manner.
Mushtaq Ghani informed that almost the entire force of law enforcement agencies and security agencies were engaged in arresting terrorists and foiling terror plans. “They have conducted over 25,000 raids all over KP and arrested thousands of suspects,” he remarked, adding that their cases are pending before courts.
The advisor explained that in the light of NAP strategies, special security advisories have been issued to the management of educational institutions, hospitals, cinema houses, public places and commercial markets. Likewise, the registration process of seminaries is also in progress, which will be completed soon.
In response to a question, the advisor to CM said that there exists complete coordination, cooperation and understanding amongst different law enforcement agencies in the province. “Representatives of different LEAs, including intelligence agencies of both civil and military administrations, hold daily meetings in which they review performance of ongoing operations and frame strategies accordingly,” Ghani said, adding that the ‘credit goes to our government for this initiative’.
He further stated that intelligence sharing is helping LEAs to conduct raids. “In some cases, police is conducting raids on its own while in others it is getting the help of armed forces,” he said. This coordination, he said, has led to a return of peace in the province. He also said that the decision of making KP police non-political is also bearing fruit in the form of improved performances.
Mushtaq Ghani also appreciated armed forces for launching the successful military operation Zarb-e-Azb. He claimed that militant networks have been destabilised due to this operation and law and order situation in the province was under control. He further said that extortion and other terror related acts have also been reduced.
Answering to a question, Mushtaq Ghani said that it is government’s priority to make the lives and properties of citizens safe and secure. For this purposes, police has been given further authority though at the same time ‘we are monitoring its performance’.
He said that temporarily displaced persons are being rehabilitated and the province is seeing investment again.