Clarifying his position in response to joint opposition's motion in the Senate on Monday, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan denied having talked about going soft against those involved in sectarianism. However, he point out certain loopholes urging that need to be plugged through legislation.
Responding at a discussion on a motion signed by 15 senators belonging to joint opposition, excluding PTI, on the 'implications of his statement in which he made distinction between the banned terrorist outfits and the proscribed sectarian organisations in Pakistan.'
The opposition lawmakers said that Chaudhry Nisar, in his speech in Senate on January 10, 2017, had drawn a distinction between terrorists and sectarian militants, who 'played football with human heads,' and there must be no difference between terrorists and sectarian militants indulged in killings of innocent people. They called for tracking down the facilitators of terrorists and sought an in-camera briefing on it. They said that without taking them to task, the menace of terrorism and sectarianism could not be eliminated.
The opposition came under fire from the government senators, who accused them of bringing non-serious matters to the House, saying out of 15 movers, only three were present in Senate to speak on it, which shows how serious they are about eradicating the menace of terrorism.
Nisar made it clear that neither terrorist organisations nor sectarian outfits are allowed to operate in Pakistan, adding that no headquarters of terrorist organisations exist in Waziristan, following the operation Zarb-e-Azb. He claimed that his statement was 'totally misinterpreted' and insisted there must be no political point-scoring on security issues. "There should be no politics on two things: security and economy, and I would rather say there should be no politics at all, on security," he maintained.
He stressed that all parties across political divide should join hands to tighten the noose around terrorists and sectarian elements, which could be possible through legislation as there are loopholes in the law.
"The security situation has already massively improved after the launch of Zarb-e-Azb and operation Raddul Fasaad, backed by a number of actions by the law-enforcement agencies, and we must unite to put the last nail in the coffin of terrorism," he added. He emphasised that eradication of terrorism is a 'shared business' and all the stakeholders such as federal and provincial governments, security agencies and other civil law enforcement agencies should play their due role.
Nisar emphasised that all the efforts for elimination of terrorism should be above political motives. He assured terrorist organisations will not be allowed to operate at any cost.
He said that during the intelligence-based operations, thousands of facilitators, financers and helpers of the terrorists have been arrested across Pakistan. The leadership of the proscribed sectarian organisations has also been apprehended, he said, adding, but certain leaders who faced no cases, continued holding public meetings and calling on government functionaries, even in the past, as they could not be barred as per the existing law from doing so.
However, he pointed out that proscribed sectarian organisations have a number of followers or workers and action could not be taken against them without any proof of their involvement in any terrorist activity. "The Ministry of Interior and NACTA have been asked to plug the loopholes for which legislation is to be enacted to address this loophole," he said seeking support of all the political parties in this connection.
Chaudhry Nisar recalled that before his party took over, five to six bomb blasts were a routine matter, but the number has now been reduced significantly and terror incidents occur after passage of weeks and even months. Referring to his meeting with proscribed ASWJ chief Ahmed Ludhianvi, he said that no one said a single word when he (Ludhianvi) used to hold meeting with the former President and his ministers. He said he was even allowed to contest election during the past caretaker government.
He also noted that there was no noise when a PML-N lawmaker was de-seated and Ludhianvi was notified as MNA. He said it is a healthy sign that at least people have begun realising that it is not good to meet such people. Earlier, PPP's Senator Sehar Kamran moved the motion in the House and said that action should be taken against all the banned/proscribed organisations/outfits without any distinction. She alleged that the National Action Plan is being implemented selectively. She called for strong action against sectarian groups.
MQM's Colonel Tahir Hussain Mashhadi (Retd) said good seminaries must not be touched but the proscribed groups, including Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Taliban, must be eliminated which are involved in killing of Hazaras on the ground that (Persian-speaking) Hazara are Shia Muslims, and another community at Safoora.
"There must be no good or bad sectarian terrorists and if the government has banned certain outfits, then, there will be definitely a collective wisdom behind it. Sparing them will be like undoing sacrifices of the army and other agencies," he said. Mashhadi reminded the minister that the banned outfits cannot hold public meetings and other activities.
Maulana Tanvirul Haq Thanvi of MQM noted that after the operation Zarb-e-Azb and sacrifices of the armed forces, there has been a marked decrease in terrorist acts; however, the recent wave of terrorism has indicated that terrorists still exist.
"Terrorists are combated but their facilitators, who are found in the elite class at every level of government, must be traced and be brought to book. In an in-camera briefing, legislators should be told who these people are and if they are not apprehended, the menace will not be eliminated totally," he noted. He lauded those who speak against terrorists and their facilitators.
Under the Constitution, Senator Taj Haider said, private armed groups should not be allowed to operate in the country at any cost. The kind of statement the minister gave in the House created doubts about the government's policy against terrorism, he added.
MQM's Ateeq Sheikh said that NAP, agreed upon by all the political parties, should be implemented in true letter and spirit. He said that the provinces could not fully implement it. He cited that one of the BJP leaders has brought a resolution in the Indian legislature seeking allocation of reserving seats for Gilgit-Baltistan and asked if he should also bring a resolution for seats to Junagadh, Hyderabad (Deccan) and Indian-occupied Kashmir in Pakistani Parliament.
Senator Abdul Qayyum of PML-N said that the terrorists are enemy of the country. PML-N's Nehal Hashmi and Saleem Zia stressed on the need of seriousness on the part of the opposition saying that previous governments had failed to take action against terrorists in a decisive way. Chaudhry Tanvir Khan of the ruling party said that significant improvement in the law and order has been achieved after the implementation of the NAP. He urged all to acknowledge it.
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