CSS 2016 Solved Current Affairs Past Papers | Counter Terrorism Effort and National Action Plan.
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Question Breakdown
This question has one part that requires a detailed analysis of the effectiveness of government-led counter-terrorism measures in view of the National Action Plan.
Outline
1-Introduction
2-Terrorism challenges and National Action Plan as a government response
- ✓ Pakistan terrorism crises
- ✓ National Action Plan (NAP) as a Government Response
3-Efficacy of NAP in combating terrorism
- ✓ Reduction in Terrorism Incidents
- ✓ Strengthening of Law Enforcement Agencies
- ✓ Crackdown on Terror Financing
- ✓ Regulation of Madrassas and Hate Speech
- ✓ Rehabilitation and Mainstreaming Efforts
4-Critical Analysis
5-Conclusion
Answer to the Question
Introduction
Fundamentalists and extremists have exploited religious divisions to promote their agendas, which has led to deadly attacks on religious sites and processions. To counter militant issues, Pakistan brings a counter-terrorism policy known as the National Action Plan (NAP), launched in 2015 in response to the tragic terrorist attack on Army Public School Peshawar. National Action Plan (NAP) is a twenty-point agenda to counter-terrorism, eliminate their networks, and curb and prevent extremism. Pakistan has held many military operations like Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in tribal areas of Pakistan, particularly in North Waziristan, where militant groups had safe havens. The success of these policies is often seen as dependent on constant implementation and the political will and serious efforts to tackle terrorism comprehensively, alongside regional stability and cooperation with neighboring countries. Therefore, a holistic strategy is required which emphasizes dialogue, rehabilitation, and international cooperation, which is essential for completely eradicating terrorism in Pakistan and fostering lasting peace.
Terrorism challenges and National Action Plan as a government response
- ✓ Pakistan terrorism crises:
- Rise of Militias:
Pakistan has been facing significant threats from a variety of terrorist organizations, which include Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Al-Qaeda, and other sectarian groups. They have carried out numerous attacks, targeted civilians, military personnel, and critical infrastructure, causing thousands of casualties and challenging the internal stability of Pakistan.
- Sectarian Extremism:
Sectarian terrorism or extremism, especially between Sunni and Shia groups, has fueled violence and created havoc across the country. Fundamentalists and extremists have exploited religious divisions to promote their agendas, which has led to deadly attacks on religious sites and processions.
- Money Laundering and Terror Financing:
Terror financing and money laundering have been the most highlighted issues involving the flow of funds through illegal channels such as hawala and front businesses. This support has enabled terrorist organizations to recruit, sustain operations and carry out attacks.
- Radicalization and un-Islamic Narratives:
The flow of these extremist ideologies through unregulated madrassas, social media, and hate speech has been a major factor in radicalizing segments of the population, particularly the youth.
- Border Security and Cross-border Terrorism:
Pakistan’s border regions, especially those bordering Afghanistan, have been hotbeds of terrorist activity. The porous borders have allowed militant groups to carry out cross-border attacks and seek refuge in neighboring territories.
- ✓ National Action Plan (NAP) as a Government Response:
Pakistan’s counter-terrorism policy is mainly guided by the National Action Plan (NAP) that was launched in 2015 in response to the tragic terrorist attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar. NAP is a twenty-point agenda to counter militias and terrorists, eliminate terrorist networks, curb extremism, and prevent extremism. Pakistan has held many military operations like Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad, which played a critical role in dismantling terrorist infrastructure in tribal areas of Pakistan, particularly in North Waziristan, where militant groups had safe havens. Additionally, intelligence operations also played a crucial role. For example, they are led by the coordination between security agencies (e.g. Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)) and the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA). Besides military actions, Pakistan has introduced reforms in madrassas to re-regulate their activities and control the spread of extremist ideology. The federal government recognizes the need for a multi-faceted approach to counter terrorism, combining military, social and political efforts. While a significant progress has been made in reducing terrorist attacks, challenges still remain, especially the resurgence of certain groups and the hinderance in fully dismantling ideological networks. The success of these policies is often seen as dependent on constant implementation and the political will and serious efforts to tackle terrorism comprehensively, alongside regional stability and cooperation with neighboring countries. Some of the major components of NAP are highlighted below:
- Military Operations Against Terrorist Groups
- Crackdown on Terror Financing
- Regulation of Madrassas and Countering Extremism
- Reforms in the Criminal Justice System
- Countering Hate Speech and Sectarian Violence
Efficacy of NAP in combating terrorism
- ✓ Reduction in Terrorism Incidents:
Operation Zarb-e-Azb, initiated under NAP in 2014, targeted terrorist strongholds in North Waziristan. The operation successfully dismantled major networks, including Al-Qaeda and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) affiliates, which has reduced their capability to carry out large-scale attacks. It was reported by the end of 2016 that more than 3,500 terrorists had been killed, and thousands of terrorist safe havens were destroyed. Similarly, Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad was launched in 2017 to eliminate the residual threat. It was not only military but also aimed to strengthen counter-terrorism laws and curtail financial networks that funded terror activities. This operation brought long-term stability in previously volatile regions like Balochistan and Karachi. Statistical analysis says that Terrorism-related fatalities peaked in 2013 with over 4,500 deaths, whereas, by 2020, the number has dropped to less than 600, marking an almost 85% reduction in terrorism-related deaths. Global Terrorism Index (GTI) has also shown similar results, i.e. Pakistan is on the path of a continuous decline in terror-related incidents. Amnesty International acknowledged Pakistan’s improvement in terrorist incidents, saying,
“Pakistan has made substantial progress in curbing terrorism, particularly through successful military operations and counter-terrorism policies.”
- ✓ Strengthening of Law Enforcement Agencies:
Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies (LEA) have been strengthened under NAP through improved coordination, better equipment, specialized training, and enhanced legislation. The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) was expanded and revamped across all provinces, and it became the central agency in urban areas for intelligence information gathering, arrest of suspected militants, and counter-terrorism operations. For example, the CTD foiled the terrorists’ cells in some provinces, especially Punjab and arrested hundreds of militants in the operations between 2016 and 2019 in the cities of Lahore, Multan and Faisalabad. Similarly, in Karachi operation 2013 – 2019, these LEAs, including Rangers and Sindh Police, proved themselves in maintaining law and order in Karachi. News sources reveal that the governments of Pakistan have been conducting more than forty thousand intelligence-based operations (IBOs) from 2015 to 2020, during which over fifty-five hundred suspected terrorists were arrested by national law enforcement agencies. This became possible due to the improvement of cooperation between provincial police, intelligence agencies and CTD. UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) commends Pakistan’s efforts and states,
“Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies have made truly outstanding progress in combating terrorism through structural reforms and the effective implementation of the National Action Plan.”
- ✓ Crackdown on Terror Financing:
Pakistani government confiscated 4,500 bank accounts linked to extremist organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). These actions restricted the flow of funds to these organizations, hindering their ability to finance militant operations. Law enforcement agencies of Pakistan and the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) of the State Bank of Pakistan collaborated to track suspicious transactions. This helped in shutting down hawala/hundi networks across the country—informal money transfer systems commonly used by terrorists to evade the formal banking system. For instance, Hafiz Saeed, the leader of JuD, was convicted of terror financing in 2019; his conviction made it possible to unveil his organization’s extensive charity networks that were used as fronts for terror funding. Pakistan’s effort to curb terror financing was also monitored by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). After years of strict compliance with FATF rules, Pakistan, in 2022, was removed from the FATF grey list. Moreover, specialized terrorist Financing Investigation Units (TFIUs) were established in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and provincial Counter-Terrorism Departments (CTDs) to investigate terror financing. FATF President Marcus Pleyer said, “Pakistan is making significant improvements in its financial monitoring systems and in prosecuting cases of terror financing efficiently, ensuring the dismantling of terrorist networks and their funding sources.”
- ✓ Regulation of Madrassas and Hate Speech:
To assess the funding and programs of the madrasa, a three-level system was developed within the National Action Plan. The Interior ministry teamed up with the Ministry of Religious Affairs to form a Madrasa Regulatory Authority in order to ensure that these Madrasas adhere to standards of keeping to a curriculum that is tolerant. Furthermore, new laws were passed to regulate the financing of Madrasas and especially foreign finance, most especially from countries with track records of sponsoring radical Islam. Changes were also brought into law, known as the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), in order to characterize hate speech as an offence. NAP has effectively made efforts to curb such growth, and communication of extremist ideologies and hate-driven speeches have been discouraged, hence lowering the impact of the extreme groups. For statistics, by 2019, over 30 thousand madrasas have been recorded and given under the authority of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Several other madrasas recognized with militant groups were either shut down or put under strict state supervision.
- ✓ Rehabilitation and Mainstreaming Efforts:
One of the most prominent rehabilitation and mainstreaming efforts of Pakistan is the Sabaoon Center in the Swat Valley; it was established after the military operations against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Swat. It was made to focus on rehabilitating young boys who were forcefully recruited by the Taliban. They undergo extensive counselling, vocational training and psychological support to reintegrate into society. By 2020, more than 2,500 former child militants graduated from Sabaoon with a reinstated passion for finding employment or returning to education. Similar is the case of the Mashal Project; it also worked to rehabilitate and educate former militants, focusing on providing a balanced curriculum that blends religious education with modern subjects. Pakistan also sought to mainstream certain banned militant groups by encouraging them to participate in politics rather than militancy; it was extremely controversial but a deliberate move. Statistics have shown decreased recruitment of militants in these groups and successful employment of affected individuals, highlighting the efficacy of these efforts.
Critical Analysis
There are many challenges to Pakistan’s counter-terrorism policy, primarily due to social and economic factors, regional relations and political turbulence. The government has come up with several good policies, most of which employ military force or legislation. Still, while formulating policies to fight terrorism, it did not take into account the root causes of terrorism, such as poverty, social exclusion or absence of education. Based on this, the current policies will only offer a short-term remedy which opposes judicial reforms and the socio-economic development of a country. Moreover, the use of force as a means to end underlying factors can prolong unresolved aggression. Hence, a political approach is needed as well, which focuses on talk, reconciliation and multilateralism, as dialectical cooperation is indispensable for eliminating terrorism in Pakistan in its entirety and establishing sustainable peace.
Conclusion
Terrorism security in Pakistan requires not only the confrontation with violent armed groups but also a comprehensive plan coupled with continuous socio-economic and political aspects. However, implementation is only possible in Pakistan when this framework is made in the presence of the relevant aspects of comprehensive strategy (i.e. Community engagement, socio-economic development, judicial reforms, intelligence operations). Moreover, to prepare a sound model against terrorism and challenge radicalization and extremism, it is important to foster international cooperation and develop trust between varying communities. Thus, a collective and integrating approach will not only enhance security within the country but will also lead to the stability of the region.
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