Wednesday, August 26, 2015
From Print Edition
Editorial
Finally, words from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have confirmed the Pakistani state’s commitment to taking on sectarian outfits and private militias in the country. In a meeting of the federal cabinet on Monday, PM Sharif made good on the commitment to implement the National Action Plan in its true spirit. Dealing with the mushroom growth of sectarian outfits seems to be a key component of the way forward that the government is planning. The same words were echoed by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, who concurred that the abolition of sectarianism was a primary objective, and that no one would be allowed to declare other sects as non-Muslims. While tackling this would require much more than targeting sectarian groups, these words are much appreciated. In the last five years, the targeting of Shia and Ahmadi populations increased significantly. The past few months, though, have passed without any major incident after the horrific Shikarpur attack in early January. Since then, two key Laskhar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) leaders, Malik Ishaq and Balochistan head Usman Kurd, have been killed.
While questions remain over the lack of action against the LeJ’s political front, the Ahl-e-Sunnah wal Jammat (ASWJ), there has been much more progress against sectarian terrorists in the last six months than in the last decade. The interior minister has also confirmed that the government will be coming up with the first clear, uniform list of banned organisations. We do wonder, though, why such a list had never been prepared before despite promises to the effect. And the bigger question is: who will make it onto the list? And what will be done about the massive infrastructure of banned organisations? Nisar has spoken about the need to target the madressah network – minus ‘good’ madressahs – but there has been limited action on this front. The interior minister is positive that terrorism is on the way down. In 2014, there were 1,640 terrorist attacks. This year, in eight months, there have been 695. This suggests that Operation Zarb-e-Azb is having an impact. What is not clear is what kind of acts are included in the combined number that the interior minister presented. The specific question being: are Baloch separatist attacks lumped together with religiously motivated terrorism? Nisar spoke about the fact that Baloch separatists were being reined in, but targeting them has not been a declared part of Operation Zarb-e-Azb. Curbing terrorist funding is another key part of the agenda, but Nisar has reported slow progress on that. Progress may be slow, but the government appears to at least be saying the right thing. It is hoped we see action in line with these bold statements to curb sectarian terrorism.
From Print Edition
Editorial
Finally, words from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have confirmed the Pakistani state’s commitment to taking on sectarian outfits and private militias in the country. In a meeting of the federal cabinet on Monday, PM Sharif made good on the commitment to implement the National Action Plan in its true spirit. Dealing with the mushroom growth of sectarian outfits seems to be a key component of the way forward that the government is planning. The same words were echoed by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, who concurred that the abolition of sectarianism was a primary objective, and that no one would be allowed to declare other sects as non-Muslims. While tackling this would require much more than targeting sectarian groups, these words are much appreciated. In the last five years, the targeting of Shia and Ahmadi populations increased significantly. The past few months, though, have passed without any major incident after the horrific Shikarpur attack in early January. Since then, two key Laskhar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) leaders, Malik Ishaq and Balochistan head Usman Kurd, have been killed.
While questions remain over the lack of action against the LeJ’s political front, the Ahl-e-Sunnah wal Jammat (ASWJ), there has been much more progress against sectarian terrorists in the last six months than in the last decade. The interior minister has also confirmed that the government will be coming up with the first clear, uniform list of banned organisations. We do wonder, though, why such a list had never been prepared before despite promises to the effect. And the bigger question is: who will make it onto the list? And what will be done about the massive infrastructure of banned organisations? Nisar has spoken about the need to target the madressah network – minus ‘good’ madressahs – but there has been limited action on this front. The interior minister is positive that terrorism is on the way down. In 2014, there were 1,640 terrorist attacks. This year, in eight months, there have been 695. This suggests that Operation Zarb-e-Azb is having an impact. What is not clear is what kind of acts are included in the combined number that the interior minister presented. The specific question being: are Baloch separatist attacks lumped together with religiously motivated terrorism? Nisar spoke about the fact that Baloch separatists were being reined in, but targeting them has not been a declared part of Operation Zarb-e-Azb. Curbing terrorist funding is another key part of the agenda, but Nisar has reported slow progress on that. Progress may be slow, but the government appears to at least be saying the right thing. It is hoped we see action in line with these bold statements to curb sectarian terrorism.
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