Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's visit to Saudi Arabia and Army Chief General Raheel Sharif's trip to the UK were finalised after due consultations between the two with the objective of seeking help of friendly countries to block sources of terrorists funding, informed sources revealed to Business Recorder.
The civilian government and the military are on the same page with respect to measures that need to be taken to eradicate terrorism and extremism following the tragic Peshawar school attack, according to official sources. The perception that there is a 'soft coup' in place is flawed, the sources pointed out, adding the fact is that for the first time the civil and military leadership were taking decisions after mutual consultations on almost a daily basis. All the relevant agencies are continuously in touch in the course of implementation of the National Action Plan, according to him.
"There is no doubt that both the civil and military leadership are on the same page and they should be, as it is high time that they unite for the national cause," said Air Marshall Shahid Latif (Retd), a security analyst. Referring to the Prime Minister's visit to Saudi Arabia, he said that the visit was not just to enquire about the health of the Saudi King as announced in the official handout but to tell them [Saudis] in categorical terms "to stop funding banned outfits and their seminaries".
He further said the Army Chief's visit to the UK was also relevant to the implementation of the National Action Plan and it appears that the decision for the two high profile visits were taken after due consultation. He said the civil and military leadership agreed on a 20-point national agenda and it was the need of the hour. The military, he added, has a good track record and will prove itself on implementing the steps that relate directly to it.
However, he added, it would be difficult to achieve the desired objectives if the civilian government failed to deliver on measures that are to be taken by the civilian leadership. He clarified that capacity building of civil law enforcement agencies, madrassah reforms and reactivation of National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), were directly linked to the civilian government which need to be implemented within two years.
About the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government decision to allow teachers of the province to carry licensed weapons while on the duty, he said that it was a good step according to the current security situation but, he added, that there was a need to conduct security audit and clearance of the teachers to avoid misuse of the guns.
Amir Rana, member of expert group of National Action Plan and Director Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS), said that there was no doubt that both the civil and military leadership were on the same page but the implementation of NAP would take some time. He said that so far the implementation of NAP was in the right direction and both civil and military leadership seemed to be co-ordinating and co-operating with each other. He said that the expert group had suggested an estimate of Rs 100 billion initially for the implementation of the national action plan. About the KP government decision to arm teachers, he said that it was a good decision but it should not be adopted as a long-term strategy and added "we need to strengthen our law enforcement institutions".
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