The threat of terrorism faced by Pakistan cannot be attributed to any single factor. Infact, there are a variety of internal and foreign forces behind the wave of terrorism. Up until December 2014, the state’s response to the terrorists’ nefarious plots was primarily reactive and intermittent because the state apparatus initially found itself unprepared to meet the enormous challenge of combating terrorism in a coordinated manner. After the 2104 Army Public School attack, there was a general agreement to take the terrorists down severely through a coordinated national effort. While the National Internal Security Policy of 2014 highlighted broad policy principles and long-awaited reforms in numerous state institutions, it was felt that an Action Plan with precise, largely quantifiable, and ultimately time-bound objectives was necessary to combat the scourge of terrorism.

A 20-Point National Action Plan (NAP) for countering terrorism and extremism was developed by NACTA/Ministry of Interior in consultation with the stakeholders in order to address the root cause of terrorism and extremism in a comprehensive manner. The NAP was approved by the Parliament on December 24, 2014. The National Action Plan laid forth the specifics of the nation’s counterterrorism campaign. Since then, there has been a lot of discussion regarding the effectiveness of the National Action Plan and the problems with its execution, but relatively little is done to showcase the NAP’s successes.

The NAP is being implemented in cooperation with all provinces, security organisations, and other stakeholders. In Pakistan, the writ of the state has been established over the entire country thanks to the effective execution of NAP, which has resulted in notable improvements in the general state of internal security and law and order. The number of terrorist strikes in Pakistan decreased by 29% over the course of 2018 compared to the previous year. In 2017, there were 370 terrorist-related incidents in total.

Under the 21st amendment to the Pakistani constitution, special trial courts were established with Army oversight after an analysis of NAP’s performance. 415 cases have been processed through quick trials since the NAP’s inception, according to the National Counter Terrorism Authority. The trial cases in military tribunals are started and originally probed by local police and Counter Terrorism Departments formed in Police to prevent injustice. The present administration is about to raise the issue of military courts once more in an effort to prolong their existence because it believes that these courts serve as a deterrent to terrorists.

The National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) was intended to be revitalised, however no satisfying results were obtained. Between the federal and provincial governments, there hasn’t been much agreement. Questions about who should be held accountable for the lack of countermeasures have been raised in light of the recent attacks on CTD Bannu and a targeted attack on the police mobile in the Lakki Marwat district. Since such attacks were under the purview of national security, the provincial administration is not liable for them, claims chief minister KP Mehmood Khan.

The creation of a successful Joint Intelligence Directorate (JID) was also envisioned, but has not yet happened. The foundation of JID was the concept of intelligence fusion, analysis, and forecasting future trends. The “Intelligence Collection and Fusion Centre (ICFC)” was created with the goal of creating a professionally committed, operationally focused, technologically competent, and highly adaptable national fusion setup that will be able to deliver timely and relevant intelligence based on input from various agencies and departments. JID intends to expand intelligence sharing among police departments, provincial law enforcement agencies, and federal law enforcement agencies. Although the concept is fantastic, it has not yet been put into practice. Although a decision has not yet been made, the summary that would have advised the federal government to shut down its Joint Intelligence Directorate has been moved.

Pakistan needs to assess its progress in the fight against terrorism at this point. The nation’s resolve to combat terrorism led to the pledge to implement the National Action Plan, but the challenges in doing so must not be overlooked. No institution has assumed sole responsibility for NAP implementation over the past four years. Between federal agencies and provincial governments, its ownership was still in question. Although the progress made thus far is admirable, the fight against terrorism is far from over.

Pakistan will need to adjust its approach as this conflict moves into a new stage of hybrid warfare. Therefore, the National Action Plan needs to be modified and strengthened immediately. As general security objectives have already been met through NAP, more target-oriented and particular security objectives still need to be accomplished. Pakistan is still having trouble developing a national narrative on terrorism years after fighting a war with militants. This ambiguity will get us nowhere because intolerance and extremism are slowly but surely destroying society from within.