The top civil and military leadership met to review the implementation of the National Action Plan on Wednesday, which was devised to root out the menace of terrorism from the country. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, Director General ISI Lt-Gen Rizwan Akhtar and other senior civil and military figures, the meeting came to the conclusion that the performance regarding the implantation of the National Action Plan is far from satisfactory. The NAP was implemented after the horrific attack on the Army Public School that left more than 140 people dead, mostly children.
Questions have been raised regarding the implementation of NAP by many quarters, since the Government has failed to curb the wave of terrorist attacks. Some of the major attacks have took place this year in Shikarpur, Youhanabad in Lahore and the latest being the Safoora Chowrangi massacre in Karachi. Among the major concerns raised in the meeting were regarding the funding of terrorist groups and other banned organizations.
There has been little progress made on the propose Madrassah reforms in the country. The use of military courts to counter terrorism is also controversial and the Supreme Court is currently overseeing the review of the legality of such an action to counter terrorism. The absence of provincial chief Ministers from Wednesday’s meeting also raises the question whether terrorism can be countered without having the provinces on board?
Despite many issues the admission that the NAP has not been properly implemented shows the determination of the civil and military leadership to improve their strategy and go hard against the terrorist elements operating in the country. The dedication shown by the military leadership to bring peace to the country is especially commendable.