Lawmakers slam government over slow progress on NAP

Members of the National Assembly Wednesday urged the federal government to improve governance and ensure implementation of National Action Plan to counter terrorism and extremism. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shafqat Mahmood said the ISPR statement has pointed out the government's incompetence and lack of interest to effectively deal with terrorism in the country.
"It has been 11 months to the National Action Plan and still the government has done nothing to improve courts, police and prosecution system," he said. During a Corps Commanders Conference in Rawalpindi on Tuesday held to review the country's internal security situation, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif had stressed the need for "complementary governance" for progress in the fight against terrorism.
Mahmood said the ISPR statement also points out the government's lack of interest to implement the NAP and this should be worrisome for all the parliamentarians. He also demanded the government to brief the parliament on implementation of the NAP. "The ISPR statement clearly indicates that either there is a civil-military disconnect or the government is simply doing nothing to counter terrorism and extremism," he said.
Mahmood said the government should also think as to why the ISPR has to go public through the statement. Supporting statement of Shafqat Mahmood, PTI leader Dr Arif Alvi said that if the government fails to initiate cogent steps to counter terrorism and extremism than all the progress achieved so far could go down the drain.
Earlier during the day, Leader of Opposition in the Lower House, Khursheed Shah pointed out lack of quorum in the House, saying, "There is only one minister present in the House and the government still hasn't learned to take the parliament seriously." Referring to Corps Commanders' conference, Shah also urged the government to improve its performance. Shah said the government should take the hint and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should rectify the cabinet.
Pakhtunkhawa Milli Awami Party leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai labelled the ISPR statement against spirit of the constitution while urging for ministers' regular presence in the House. Referring to the prime minister and the army chief, he said, "If both Sharifs are on the same page, we will support them unconditionally, but if there is are any differences between them, then we will support the civilian Sharif."
The National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, earlier in the day, also suspended proceedings of the House for 10 minutes to protest against absence of the ministers. During the 10-minute break, the speaker also expelled junior officers of federal ministries from the assembly galleries and called the secretaries of the Interior Ministry and Ministry of Finance.