Reported

If Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan thought that he would get smooth sailing in the National Assembly over a report on the performance of his ministry, he was mistaken. The minister revealed that he had only reluctantly accepted charge for coordinating the National Action Plan and that he would not be answering questions about the implementation of NAP just yet. Nisar’s position went against the actual report he shared, which claimed amongst its responsibilities and successes the implementation of NAP and the Karachi operation. The interior ministry’s report contained a wide range of achievements, including an 80 percent reduction in terrorism incidents in Karachi, 53 percent reduction in target killing, 30 percent reduction in murders and 35 percent reduction in robberies. Nisar claimed that improved coordination between the federal government, provincial governments and security agencies had been seen, but the continuing stand-off with the Sindh government over the Karachi operation tells a different story. The report can also be seen as the interior minister’s response to the crisis.

The troubling part was the lack of progress on creating two new security authorities, the National Counter-Terrorism Authority and Joint Intelligence Directorate. Despite the failure to set up the joint intelligence directorate agreed upon as a necessity by political parties, Nisar said that 2,500 intelligence reports had been presented to government departments. The minister also promised that three more months would be needed to establish the directorate, but no one is taking his word for it. The report would have been more useful had the interior ministry shared concrete targets for the coming months in areas where it has failed. Does it have a plan to bring madressahs into the mainstream? When will there be an effort to control banned organisations? Even in the context of Karachi, we need to know why terrorist organisations responsible for sectarian killings, the targeting of foreigners and other offences do not seem to have been pursued with the same zeal as other groups. However, we can consider it a positive sign that a ministry has attempted to have its own work reviewed. In our present situation, the work of the interior ministry is especially critical. There will no doubt be much comment in the wake of Chaudhry Nisar’s address on what needs to be done. Perhaps this can lead to a more unified effort to combat crime and militancy in the country, and streamline the work of the other departments that play a crucial role.