The Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Monday said it had been decided to frame a 'tougher' law to deal with those who are inimical to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as such elements do not deserve to be tried under the existing laws.
Addressing a news conference after attending a high-level meeting over Karachi law and order situation, he said that the way we consider the CPEC as one of the most important projects, similarly for the enemies it is one of their priority target. Therefore it has been decided to frame a special law to deal with elements against the CPEC, he said, adding that we have identified that some elements within us are part of the anti-CPEC conspiracy.
He said there is a consensus that without capacity building of Karachi police the Karachi operation would not achieve its long-term objectives. Therefore, it has been decided that 20,000 fresh recruitments would be made while 2,000 ex-servicemen inducted in Sindh police towards achieving the capacity building goal of police in the province. Chief of Army Staff Raheel Sharif has pledged to provide light arms to the police force to better fight terrorists, he said, adding that Pakistan army would assist police in fresh recruitments and provide training.
Nisar said the meeting expressed concern over poor progress in curbing terror financing. It has been decided that the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) would convene a meeting of representatives of State Bank of Pakistan, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), home and counter terrorism departments of four provinces soon after Eid to evolve an out of box solution to curb terror financing, he said.
The Minister said that documentation of population of Karachi would be conducted with the help of National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). Karachi would be divided into different zones for documentation of population and the federal government model would be adopted for this purpose in order to figure out the number of local and foreigner people residing in Karachi, he said.
He said it has also been decided that federal crime record database would be set-up in NACTA. The meeting has also decided to give a legal cover to a Joint Investigation Team (JITs) and Ministry of Interior would seek opinion from legal experts to give legal cover to the JIT. He said it has also been proposed to set up a National Registration Authority (NRA) of vehicles which will issue similar number plates to vehicles. He said the meeting appreciated Islamabad Safe City project and proposed to launch Karachi Safe City project in different phases to monitor law and order situation through cameras.
He said that overall security has improved in the country, including Karachi, due to unmatched sacrifices of security forces but terrorists are now attacking soft and high profile targets to create panic among the people. The Minister said that the attack on renowned Qawwal Amjad Sabri and kidnapping of son of the chief justice of Sindh High Court indicate desperation of terrorists. There is no need for the nation to get disappointed, as terrorists are on the run, he said, adding that our security and intelligence agencies have taken murder of Amjad Sabri and kidnapping of chief justice's son as a challenge and we will certainly reach the culprits and bring them to justice.
The Minister said terrorists want to divide the nation through incidents like killing of Amjad Sabri and kidnapping of CJ's son but we must not be the part of terrorists' plan as we are required to demonstrate unity to win this war. Pakistan is winning its war on terror but the nation will have to unite to win the psychological war against terrorists, he said.
He said that some elements are playing a negative role on social media which is badly affecting fight against terrorism. He underscored the need for using social media positively to curb terrorism. To a question, he said that federal intelligence agencies are fully co-operating with all the provinces, especially Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), to apprehend terrorists and criminals. He also announced that government has decided to send Pakistani police to UN peacekeeping missions abroad and a formal letter to this effect will be sent to the world body.