Gen Janjua to head NAP monitoring committee

ISLAMABAD: A committee has been formed under the National Security Adviser (NSA) to the PM Lt Gen (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua for implementation of each and every clause of the National Action Plan (NAP) and it was also decided to raise 29 new wings of Civil Armed Forces (CAF) to fortify the security of the country.

This was done on Monday in the third of the series of high-echelon meetings in less than a week under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on security issues, in the wake of the Quetta blast of Monday last that killed at least 72 people.

Highly-placed sources told The News that the meeting at the PM House on Monday, where Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan were also present, resolved to eliminate terrorism within the shortest-possible time.

Another such meeting would be convened within this week where all the provincial chief ministers would also be in attendance. The meeting discussed proposals for further legislation to entrusting stern authority for the outfits dealing with terrorists and criminals. The laws which have lapsed in this regard would be revived immediately after a prompt review.

The sources said that the prime minister made it clear to the participants of the meeting that the government’s determination for eradication of terrorism was unshakable and every requisite step would be taken fearlessly for achieving the purpose. The resources will not be lacking for achieving it, he added.

Meanwhile, the PM House has said that new wings of CAF are being raised to improve border-management and ensure internal security. The fresh wings will also cater to the needs of security for under-construction projects of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) beside the the government officials and top military leadership reviewed the overall internal security situation.

Other members of the NAP's implementation committee would be the interior secretary, National Counter Terrorism Authority (Necta) director general, provincial secretaries, inspectors general of police, home secretaries and an additional secretary of Prime Minister's Office. The committee will also be assisted by a representative from each of the intelligence agencies, while the military will be represented by Director General Military Operations (DGMO). 

The sources said that, while taking part in discussions, NSA Nasser Khan Janjua reminded that he would earnestly be in need of active support from the prime minister, interior minister and COAS for executing his new duties. The meeting also reviewed the existing mechanism to check funding of terrorists and agreed to further increase stringent controls. The terrorist outfits which have changed their nomenclature and still functional would also be chased as they wouldn’t be permitted to work any further. 

The reports submitted by the intelligence gathering agencies were also thoroughly deliberated upon by the huddle, the sources said. Recent passage of the cyber crimes bill by Parliament also came under discussion. It was decided that an implementation mechanisms to deal with this law would be put in place at the earliest. The meeting was also attended by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to the PM on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi, NSA Nasser Khan Janjua, Director General Inter-Services Intelligence Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar, DG Intelligence Bureau Aftab Sultan, Secretary to the PM Fawad Hasan Fawad, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, and senior civil and military officials. 

The sources told this scribe that General Raheel Sharif also had one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif upon conclusion of the security huddle. It is understood that the two had discussion about the developments in the region with special reference to irresponsible tone and tenor being followed by New Delhi. Ch Nisar also joined the two towards the end of their consultations. Another high-level meeting regarding situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) will take place mid-week, the sources hinted.