News Analysis: Challenges faced by provincial CTDs in curbing terror

ISLAMABAD: After the hostage crisis in the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) complex in Bannu, a CTD official was quite perturbed. He wrote a letter to highlight the issue which, he thought, doesn’t get the attention of the policymakers and opinion leaders.

Pakistan is facing the scourge of terrorism at national level but it is being dealt with like a provincial matter as different federating units are fighting it through their respective CTDs. “Currently, the bureaucratic procedures and provincial anomalies hinder the smooth flow of intelligence-based reports, and it is impossible to carry out timely operations involving multiple provinces,” read his letter to the editor published in a major English newspaper.

If the Punjab CTD, for example, is in need of any credible information that it wants to obtain from CTD Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there is a procedure involving provincial rules and regulations to follow. By the time the information is made available this way, the damage will likely have already been done. The alternative mean is the personal relationship and informal channel which doesn’t work each time. In contrast, if the CTD is a national agency, the flow of information and coordination among the provinces would become much easier. Funding challenges are apart from the procedural issues.

The need of a national CTD is not being felt, says the above-mentioned officer. The National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) has also floated this proposal to the interior ministry. “The National CTD is needed for effectively fighting terrorism at national and transnational level,” reads a proposal by Nacta. This requires legislation to run this body under an IG-rank officer and the new agency should work under the Nacta command. “Provincial CT structures alone are not enough to defeat national and transnational threats. Counter terrorism is not provincial, only policing is provincial,” Nacta has argued.

This proposal is also in line with international standards as several countries are fighting this menace on this pattern. Having a national agency doesn’t require a federating unit to abolish its counter terrorism structure. Instead, they will complement each other. The USA, for example, has 18 agencies in whose scope the counter terrorism task is included but they work under the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Similarly, India has the National Investigation Agency and Australia has Australian Federal Police.

As Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has resurfaced following the Taliban government in Afghanistan, there is a major shift in sight in the strategy of TTP. Instead of conducting blasts at public places, it is rather aiming at the law enforcement agencies. The last year saw a 60 percent increase in terrorism incidents when compared with 2021 and there is no let-up in sight. An average of 84 attacks occurred per month, killing 48 persons; majority of those embraced martyrdom were from police, army and paramilitary forces. The forces working in KP are the main targets where 61 percent terrorism incidents occurred.

“Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Lakki Marwat and NMDs (newly merged districts of erstwhile Fata) are more disturbed,” reveals Nacta’s analysis. Extortion is rampant in Peshawar particularly and in KP generally. The TTP and Tehreek-e-Taliban Swat (TTS) are posing a big challenge. The TTS made hostages of the law enforcement officials other than attacking two MPAs. A pro-government notable was killed with seven others by TTS in a roadside IED attack.

This situation has baffled the decision makers. “How come they have staged a come-back,” is a frequently asked question. Other than the change of government in Afghanistan and short-sighted approach of repatriating them is another factor at work. While the army cleared the areas of TTP during operations, there was no follow-up, according to Nacta analysis.

The cleared areas should have been properly manned by the police and developed by the government. Neither of them was done and Pakistan is facing the same menace again.