It’s official: Normalcy returns to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan witnessed a significant drop-down (by 58 percent) in terrorism attacks, according to an official report prepared by the country’s top counter-terrorism body, Nacta here on Friday.

A 40-page report, a compendium of the context of National Action Plan (NAP) and actions implemented under its auspices over the past three years, provides a detailed analysis of the way forward for Pakistani policymakers. From a high of 2,060 terrorist attacks in 2010 and 681 attacks in 2017 were witnessed in the country, revealed the report which covers all the 20 salient points of the NAP.

Since March 2015, Pakistan executed 483 persons under the ATA 1997 and PPC and 382 cases were sent to 11 military courts during this period, stated the report which offers a foundation to international counter-terrorism officers and operators in the form of an inimitable study of policy and implementation to deal specifically with the root causes of terrorism, militancy, extremism and intolerance in their own circumstances.

It says that more than 0.2 million combing operations were conducted, around 4 million persons stopped and questioned, 6,998 terrorists arrested and around 2,500 terrorists were killed across the country during this period. In a serious crackdown on hate material and speeches, security forces arrested 19,530 persons across the country, according to the report which told a little about future security policy of Pakistan.

More than 18,790 cases were registered regarding misuse of loudspeakers and 7,479 pieces of equipment seized, stated the report which showed very little progress of NAP in the troubled province of Balochistan. Around Rs1.5 billion were recovered under anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing campaign, the report pointed out many issues linked to hate material and de-radicalisation which were not addressed by the authorities seriously.

Around 1,209 persons were arrested, 919 cases were registered under ‘hawala hundi’, 426 cases were registered against 574 persons under the anti-money laundering laws and 207 suspicious transactions reported from Financial Monitoring Unit, 207 cases registered, 48 cases closed while 110 cases are under process, it stated.

Pakistan issued a list of 65 proscribed organisations by keeping four of them under observations while 8, 374 individuals were placed under schedule IV, 5, 089 bank accounts were frozen through State Bank of Pakistan where an amount of over Rs157 million was frozen. Over 2,052 individuals face restrictions on movement. More than 6,027 special security personnel were trained for the new counterterrorism force.

According to the report geo-mapping of around 22,000 religious seminaries but said told a little about any productive achievement to regulate the seminaries’ system in Pakistan. In order to filter social media sites and enable vigilance against cybercrime, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority blocked 1,447 URLs which were being hosted by extremists. Under the NAP, Punjab took the lead as its counterterrorism force entered 68,957 terrorists into digital databank of police, arrested leaders of various proscribed organisations, arrested 897 terrorists and executed 400 condemned prisoners.

About the worst law and order situation in Karachi, the report revealed that more than 9,322 people were killed in Karachi from 2008 to 2013 and traders were forced to pay Rs80 million to Rs100 million a day to the extortionists. Due to the operation , the port city witnessed 97 percent decrease in target killings, 87 percent in murder rate, 52 percent decrease in robberies, 62 percent in kidnapping for ransom and 82 percent in extortion. About Balochistan, the report stated that more than 2,000 suspected separatists have surrendered to the security forces.