- A new idea of war!
To quote Sun Tzu, a Chinese general, military strategist, writer, and philosopher:
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
The only way, remember, to contain a wild bush from growing is to de-root it. The National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) Pakistan seems to have wake up to the aforementioned reality in the form of realisation of the significance to counter extremism, which happens to be the root cause of violent terrorism, in order to eradicate the evil for good.
The finalised counter-terrorism narrative along with National counter extremism guidelines (seeking approval from the government), devised in an 18-month long consultation process with Ulemas, academics, and the media, is focused on themes like “service delivery, people’s engagement, education reforms, enabling environment, rehabilitation, reintegration and renunciation and also the promotion of culture,” stated Ihsan Ghani, the NACTA coordinator.
Designated as the primary institution to overlook the National Action Plan (NAP), which largely remains selectively applied till date, NACTA in a step further to strengthen its ongoing Tat’heer (Cleansing) drive, has launched mobile applications compatible with Android as well as iPhones enabling the citizens to report any hate speech, or display of such content within their local vicinities, while maintaining their anonymity to ensure their security. This is in addition to the launch of an online portal, named as surf-space, serving the same purpose.
Finding itself in the midst of the misunderstood, and inappropriate global anti-terror drive cum carnage, lies Pakistan, to which the western idea of Islamic terrorism does not fit
A decade since its inception, primarily aimed at counter extremism and terrorism, and formulation and promotion of a strong national narrative, while NACTA has faced off with multiple issues pertaining to issuance of sufficient funds, and required political and bureaucratic support, it is nevertheless encouraging to see light at the long tunnel’s end in the form of some positive steps by the internal counter terrorism body.
Whereas the landmark successes in the war on terror have majorly been military oriented, a political contribution is critical, and a mandatory pre-requisite to a lasting, and sustainable resolution to the problem of extremism and thus, terrorism. NACTA, therefore, must prepare itself to face off with tough on-ground challenges.
The first and the foremost challenge, for NACTA, lies in infiltrating into the religious seminaries which, if not all of course, then many ironically remain the core of sowing the seeds of extremism into the underprivileged section of the society which turns to them for acquiring religious knowledge. The number of madrassahs, as per a recent survey, stands at 28,982 hosting over three (3) million students as compared to only 2861 back in 1988. Although the ministry of interior claims that 90pc of the madrassahs are registered, it seems highly unlikely on ground. What’s critical to note here is that, other than registry, the curriculum being taught in these seminaries is neither reviewed, nor approved by a central authority, and even being talked about ignites fury in the relevant circles, that adds reluctance to the political and bureaucratic power structure’s will to act. The funding to these madrassahs remains another big question mark on the financial control measures in place, as approximately 300 seminaries are receiving foreign funding. The unchecked curriculum and funding will remain a grave challenge to the counter extremism guide unless intercepted and scrutinised.
The second challenge in line would be the Afghan refugees. Stats reveal a number of two (2) million plus Afghan refugees (registered and unregistered) dispersed, and diffused across Pakistan. Under-privileged in their economic status, these refugees are a constant threat to Pakistan’s national security as they are vulnerable to external influence, and abuse against the host country. NACTA along with other relevant institutions must work on either rehabilitating or repatriating these refugees, for the counter extremism guide to be effective.
Certainly not to be left out, the third challenge lies in the provision of appropriate and rational understanding of religion. While the clerics guilty of ingraining extremism through false propagation of the message of Islam need to be highlighted, and isolated, it is crucial to engage reputable Ulemas, muftis, and religious scholars and provide them with an effective platform to spread the true spirit of Islam among the masses. The media also needs to play an active role here.
Left unaddressed, these challenges will continue to emerge as hurdles in the effectiveness of the counter extremism guide, and the nightmare of terrorism will, thereby, continue to haunt us.
Almost two decades into the war on terror, the world powers, with all their combined economic and military might, still find themselves short of devising an absolute and sustainable solution to the menace of terrorism, which has managed to expand its span of operations across regions. A critical ingredient of terrorism, however, underestimated and left un-addressed to a great extent in this war on terror is extremism; the root cause, and the primary triggering element of terrorism. To cut it short, the world is fighting a war it has failed to understand, and without hitting at its root cause.
Finding itself in the midst of the misunderstood, and inappropriate global anti-terror drive cum carnage, lies Pakistan, to which the western idea of Islamic terrorism does not fit. It is imperative to adopt a more feasibly applicable solution rather than adapting to an imported version.
NACTA, along with all other stakeholders, must remain proactive, and persistent in their counter terrorism and extremism drive!
