Pakistan must remove
ambiguities about terror groups
Islamabad [Pakistan], Jan 29 (ANI): Pakistan should remove all ambiguities and
confusion regarding banned militant groups while making its national security
policy, a security analyst has said.
In
an opinion piece published by the Dawn, titled as "Mother of all
Confusions", Muhammad Amir Rana states that "The architects of our
security policies have to come up with a comprehensive, workable mechanism to
deal with the challenge."
"One
cannot ignore the role of parliament, which should have a frank debate on
banned militant groups," he added.
Rana
said Pakistan has drawn criticism from the international community for not
taking enough action against the terror-groups and banned outfits operating
from its soil because the government has failed diplomatically to defend its
case.
"International
politics is the art of constructing narratives, which in turn cultivate public
opinion. This requires diplomacy and opinion-making, yet the arguments embedded
in a narrative are themselves the most important part. When a narrative loses
appeal it simply requires a review. Harping on lost arguments creates only
confusion and distraction," he stated.
"Pakistan
is annoyed at the international community's repeated concerns about the alleged
presence and status of non-state actors on its soil. Pakistan tries to convince
the world by describing multiple anti-militant actions it has taken and the
sacrifices it has rendered," he added.
Referring
to recent drone strikes carried out by the United States, which killed two
Haqqani Network militants in northwestern Pakistan, Rana said, "However, a
drone strike and a subsequent press conference, or public demonstration by the
leaders of banned organisations and their other public activities, offset the
impression."
"The
blame lies largely with the civilian governments that have failed to
diplomatically defend Pakistan's case," he added.
He
mentioned that just before the recent visit of the United Nations Security
Council's sanctions monitoring team, Hafiz Saeed had approached the Lahore High
Court to prevent his arrest.
"He
suspected that the government would put him under house arrest during the
team's visit. He got temporary relief from the court, but the media coverage of
one of his news conferences resulted in his views being known abroad. Who now
would believe that Pakistan recently took serious measures against banned
groups?" he said.
"The
UNSC monitoring team's visit was part of its regular inspections but the
Financial Action Task Force, an international body that combats money
laundering and terror financing, shares concerns with many other international
actors about the activities of banned groups in Pakistan," he added.
Rana
emphasised that banned militant groups in the country are persistently
Pakistan's diplomatic stress.
"It
has been discussed at various high-level national forums that these groups have
become a strategic burden for the country. And that they are also causing
internal security problems. These groups provide recruitment bases to
anti-Pakistan and global terrorist networks and also have an impact on
relations within law-enforcement departments," he stated.
He
further mentioned that the counter-strategy by building a soft image through
expanding their outreach in political spaces and avoiding confrontation with
the government of banned militant groups has proved effective.
"Federal
Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal sees the workers of JuD and other conventional
militant groups as 'ex-militants' who are engaged in welfare work. He has
cautioned that if disturbed, they may join terrorist outfits. Interestingly, he
was expressing these views after attending the graduation ceremony of the
Counterterrorism Force at the Police Lines Headquarters in Islamabad," he
said.
"He
also claimed that about 4,000 to 5,000 militants had quit militancy and were
raising funds for welfare activities. It is not certain where he got these
statistics from as the JuD claims it has more than 50,000 registered workers
across the country," he added.
Rana
concluded by saying that for a coherent policy to deal with this, the
government and military establishment will have to be on the same page. (ANI)
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