National Security Policy – A Paradigm Shift

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the Interior Minister of Pakistan, shared the salient features of the much awaited National Security Policy in the National Assembly on Wednesday (February 26, 2014). It was a breather really for the nation as it restlessly waited for the Security Policy by the government. Though the document has not been made public so far, because it is not yet finalized and will be available to the media only after all the political parties will have given the suggestions for the improvement of the policy, if any, yet the reports, so far, are positive. 

It is good to see that finally the government has come up with a comprehensive policy to counter the menace of terrorism. The way Pakistani soldiers are being beheaded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and the public places bombed throughout the country, it was a must for the government to come forward with a concrete plan and it is plausible that they have put up one.

First of all, the revelation by the Interior Minister that there currently exist twenty six intelligence agencies in the country yet there is no institution, till date, where they all may coordinate with each other and share sensitive information, was astonishing for many. For this purpose, the government is going to use the already established institution of National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) which was set up by the previous government of PPP. It is interesting to note that the intelligence agencies were not willing to share information with each other despite the establishment of NACTA. The real challenge that the PMLN government faces now is of compelling these security agencies to share information through this institution.

While sharing his opinion with the Geo News, senior analyst Saleem Safi said, “As far as the document is concerned, it is comprehensive. From the ideological question to the social and from the strategy level to the operational, it answers everything. It discusses the role of the institutions, the provinces and the federation, and for a policy, it is plausible. What needs to be seen, however, is how they (government) are able to compel our national security agencies to abide by these guidelines.”

Khwaja Saad Rafique highlighted few points of the policy while responding to Shafqat Mehmood’s (PTI) question on Capital Talk. The main points that he made are as follows:

• Joint Intelligence Directorate will be formed. The primary purpose of this institution will be to share intelligence among all the security agencies related to terrorism.
• Rapid Response Force will be formed in all the provinces and the federation separately. It will be formed using resources from the provinces as well.
• Civil armed forces like Frontier Corps (FC), Levis, Coastal Guards and Rangers etc. will coordinate through National Internal Security Division.
• An Air Wing will be formed that will monitor the air strikes, if required.

Pakistan's National Security Policy by pmlnprofessional

These are only a few of the points and the 800 words document will certainly contain more information than that that is currently available. Yet the outlines of the policy seem to be good. The Opposition Leader, Khursheed Shah of Pakistan People’s Party, expressed concern over the fact that the opposition was not taken into confidence during the preparation of the policy. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif assured him that all the parties will be consulted before officially adopting this policy. He said that nothing was official yet and only after the due process of consultation will be completed; this document will be put up for the vote in the National Assembly.

It is certainly a great effort by the government, given the fact that there was never a comprehensive security policy ever formed in the country’s history before this. Besides, the assurance that Khwaja Saad Rafique, Federal Minister for Railways, gave on Hamid Mir’s show was also pleasing. He said that this policy is not limited to FATA or the Taliban only; it has detailed strategy for the rest of the country as well including Baluchistan and Karachi.

As I mentioned in my post on World Bulletin in September that there is a growing rage against the Taliban in the country and that the Talks Mantra is losing the popular support in the country, this National Security Policy has clearly mentioned that whenever there would be an attack in any part of the country, the Armed Forces will do surgical strikes against the Taliban in response. This is a major policy shift as previously the only option that the government pursued was “Talks”. It is a widely held belief among Pakistan’s security analysts that this policy shift has occurred after the new Army Chief took charge in November. The government has been following an aggressive policy ever since.

Whatever the consequences turn out to be, this is certainly a good beginning and given the recent good news coming from the economic and energy sectors, the government seems to be on the right path. It is hoped that the country will finally witness an end to its woes in the months and years to come, under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.