ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told the Senate on Monday that the security situation had greatly improved following the launch of a military operation and National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorists, rejecting outright apprehensions about the ownership of the plan. The minister spoke highly of the armed forces which, he noted, had broken the backbone of terrorists, as both the civil and military leadership were on the same page with regard to the operation, which had achieved great successes in less than three months. Winding up the debate on a resolution moved by Senator Sitara Ayaz, the minister gave credit of the success against the menace of terrorism to political parties, particularly those in the opposition. He emphasised that the journey was long and should be covered with unity and consensus with which it had been launched, as the Senate began its fresh session. On this occasion, with regard to the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta), the minister minced no words in asserting that they needed both funds and good people. He noted a summary was sent to the prime minister, which had been resent after certain clarifications today (Monday). Nisar asserted that the enemy Pakistan faced was extraordinary, as they targeted children, women and innocent citizens. The minister said that the “enemy was the worst, who had nothing to do with humanity what to talk of being Muslim”. The minister pointed out that there had been a huge difference between what the security situation was in June 2013 and now and credit must be given to the civil and military leadership, provincial governments, intelligence agencies and above all politicians, who stood united when it came to safeguarding Pakistan. The minister said when they formed the government in June 2013, on an average five or six terrorist attacks were being carried out each day, as Pakistan began facing extremely serious security issues after the 9/11 events in the United States.He maintained that the menace of terrorism was a complicated issue and national security was being ensured and success against the menace of terrorism was to be ultimately achieved. The minister contended that an initiative was taken to resolve the issue of terrorism through talks, but on finding out hypocrisy by the other party, it was decided to use force toAbout the military operation, he said that the armed forces had achieved great successes in North Waziristan and elsewhere and raised the national flag there, adding many terrorists were killed, many others managed to cross into Afghanistan and rest fled to another tribal agency, who were also taken on. The minister claimed that there had been marked improvement in the security situation after the launch of the National Action Plan (NAP) and conceded that the initiative would be taken to its logical conclusion to restore complete peace across Pakistan. He also conceded that so far the enemy had not been eliminated completely but would be done away with consensus and unity in the nation. He urged a price would have to be paid, as the war was still under way. The minister said in short possible time, the National Counter-Terrorism Authority had done very well and that unlike the past when there was no coordination among 33 intelligence agencies, today there was 60-70 percent coordination among them regarding the security issue. He mentioned the intelligence agencies as unsung heroes and noted that over 3000 intelligence-based operations were carried out and 37,666 arrests made and 725 among these were hardened terrorists. In the shortest possible time, he said 90 million SIMs had been verified while remaining 10 million mostly belonged to the armed forces and the government institutions.The minister also made mention of huge improvement in Karachi situation with regards to target killing, murders, extortion and acts of dacoity. He vowed the on-going operation in Karachi would also continue till achieving desired results. Earlier, speaking on the issue of corruption under a commenced motion by Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, the treasury and opposition members called for a national effort to fight corruption that was billed as second major challenge after the menace of terrorism. They regretted that even the anti-corruption watchdogs themselves were involved in corruption and named the National Accountability Bureau and some other state agencies. Senators were extremely worried about institutionalized corruption and that unlike in the past, the corrupt in the society was no more looked down upon. Taking part in discussion, Senator Farhatullah Babar said that corruption would continue to flourish as long as the culture of sacred cows and institutional corruption was addressed. He deplored that three senior officers of security establishment involved in the 2010 NLC corruption scandal were not prosecuted even though they had retired and were no longer in active military service to claim exemption from being prosecuted by civilian agencies and tried in civil courts. “This resulted in utter frustration in the members of the then Public Accounts Committee (PAC); so much so that it was one of the reasons for then chairman of PAC to resign from his position. Five years have passed and nothing has been heard about the case,” he noted. Similarly, he said the registrar of the Supreme Court refused to present accounts before the PAC. This culture of sacred cows must come to an end and across-the-board accountability has be done of all if corruption is be tackled he said. Another issue in corruption, he noted, was institutional corruption. It was manifest in the allotment of lands and other privileges for which rules were framed by the institutions themselves and later it is claimed that conferment of privileges has been in accordance with rules and regulations. Third, he said the members of Parliament must also set an example to be able to question the corruption of others. Babar called for the setting up of an Ethics Committee of Parliament before which members of parliament should be accountable for their conduct. Before the session, the House Business Advisory Committee under Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani decided to consider formation of an Ethics Committee and during the proceedings of the Senate, after consulting the Leader of the House and Leader of Opposition, the chair referred the matter to the House Standing Committee on Law. Muhammad Saleh Zaafir adds: It was Nisar’s second appearance in the Upper House after calling off his unannounced “boycott” about 20 months ago. Mian Raza Rabbani has managed the truce between Nisar and his critics after assuming the office of the chairman of Senate last month. Leader of the Opposition in Senate Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan was also present in the House. Nisar is political mentor of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) but was uneasy with some of his colleagues in the government. He didn’t mention verdict of the Election Tribunal calling for re-polling in NA-125 from where Khawaja Saad Rafiq was elected in May 2013 general elections.
