Enhanced coordination necessary to meet National Action Plan targets: PM Imran

Prime Minister Imran Khan emphasised on Thursday the need for enhanced coordination and effective measures to achieve various short-, medium-, and long-term targets set under the revised National Action Plan (NAP) in a meeting of the apex committee on NAP.

The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Defence, Finance, Interior, Information, Chief of Army Staff, DG-ISI, National Security Advisor, Chief Ministers of the provinces including Gilgit-Baltistan, PM AJ&K, Federal Secretaries, Chief Secretaries, IGs, and other senior civil and military officials.

The meeting reviewed the progress made so far on various components of the NAP. The apex committee also discussed the latest developments, including the situation in Afghanistan and its implications on Pakistan.

It also reviewed short-, medium-, and long-term targets of the revised NAP and deliberated upon the role and responsibilities of all stakeholders including federation, provinces, and law-enforcement agencies, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said.

The committee decided that tangible key performance indicators would be set for each target with delineated timelines.

“It was decided to fast track implementation of various measures to meet emergent security challenges including cyber security, espionage, judicial and civil reforms, capacity building of law-enforcement agencies, counter violent extremism and other issues having a direct bearing on national security,” the statement added.

The apex committee decided that to ensure timely, correct, and smooth flow of information about internal security issues, a National Crisis Information Management Cell would be set up with ministries of Interior and Information acting as lead bodies.

The meeting also reviewed various steps that have been put in place to ensure fool-proof security of the foreigners, especially Chinese nationals working on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and non-CPEC projects in the country.

It also reviewed the internal security situation, especially in light of recent incidents. The committee decided to take all measures to ensure internal security and to deal with miscreants with the full force of the law.

During the meeting, PM Khan noted that the nation has “paid a huge price” in fighting the menace of terrorism.

“He paid glowing tributes to the armed forces, police, intelligence agencies, and other law-enforcement agencies for their invaluable contributions and sacrifices towards ensuring internal security,” the statement added.