Failing NAP

It has been more than a year since the government formulated the 20-point National Action Plan (NAP), yet we have heard the army expressing its concerns over its half-hearted implementation by the civilians. The most important area that the government has yet to cater to is countering the extremist mindset. Another area that needs the government’s attention is reforms in madressahs and redirecting their financing mod through banking channels. Under NAP, the funding of various madressahs was to be monitored. However, this proved to be a far too great a task for the government which has neither the resolve nor the mechanism to implement it.

Perhaps the most important step under NAP was the revival of National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) to overview the implementation of NAP. However, Nacta has been operating, until very recently, without full formal staff. Moreover, Nacta is yet to hold its first board of governors meeting headed by the prime minister to make it fully functional. Pakistan has reached a point of no return in its fight against terrorism. Without a complementary role by civilian authorities, all efforts made by the military to stop terrorism will prove to be futile.

Mohammad Razi ul Haq

Lahore