IMRAN KHAN

Pakistani Strategy on War against Terror

Despite facing a decade-long spate of terrorism after 9/11 attacks on US landmarks, Pakistan still lacks an effective anti-terrorism policy to tackle the monster which has left over 30,000 civilians and 5,000 security personnel dead in hundreds of suicide bombings and other acts of terror.

Both Anti-Terrorism Amendment Bill 2010 and National Anti-Terrorism Authority Bill are pending in parliament and there is no hope these will be turned into acts for implementation in near future.

Ironically, the government is following the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, which has become obsolete and outdated and required immediate amendments to cope with new challenges.

“The multi-party Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) has been authorised to take up pending Anti-Terrorism Amendment Bill 2010 and NACTA Bill,” the chairman of the committee, Raza Rabbani, told Dawn.

Earlier, some of the committee’s members belonging to religious parties had raised objections that the parliamentary committee could not take up the Anti-Terrorism Amendment Bill 2010 because it had already been discussed by Senate Standing Committee on Interior. “However, now all members of the PCNS have unanimously mandated the committee to discuss the bill and the committee is meeting in a couple of weeks to give recommendations to the government about effective amendments for better anti-terrorism steps,” Mr Rabbani said.

The NACTA is lying dormant as the NACTA ordinance introduced in 2009 is yet to be tabled in parliament, pending approval of the cabinet. The authority, set up with much fanfare, was to act as a research organisation for which the European Union had pledged 15 million euros. A draft was also being framed to provide a legal cover to it.

The NACTA bill is lying pending with the federal cabinet because the government could not take decision whether the authority should have an independent or autonomous status or it should work as a subordinate organisation of the interior ministry with Interior Minister Rehman Malik as its head, a member of the committee said.

Experts believe that after the 18-hour occupation of the Mehran Naval base by terrorists, the government should revert to the idea of reactivating the NACTA immediately which should launch its own counter-terror force. They said it was certainly time to act because terrorists were organised and well-funded.

Experts are of the opinion that after defeat in Swat and tribal areas, terrorists of Tehrik-iTaliban Pakistan (TTP) are now moving to urban guerilla warfare and the government must develop some mechanism to address this challenge. Senior journalist and security analyst Zahid Hussain said the government had no counter-terrorism policy and, as a result, the country was facing the worst spate of terror attacks.

“Unfortunately, there is no counter-terrorism strategy to deal with the situation we are facing because of lack of commitment and professionalism in the government.” He said the government must realise that it could not tackle the problem through the military means and needed to strengthen its intelligence organisations and civil armed forces to get better results.

Last month, the mandate of the multi-party parliamentary committee to make recommendations to the government on legislations dealing with issues related to terrorism came under question when its members, Senator Prof Mohammad Ibrahim of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and Maulana Fazlur Rehman of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam stopped the committee from reviewing two bills which had been pending before a Senate committee and the federal cabinet for approval for the past over one year.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Report.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has warned that Rawalpindi, Islamabad and other big cities of the country risk “widespread devastation” in heavy rains because of their “obsolete and outdated” drainage systems.

A survey conducted by the NDMA recently found that the old, creaking drainage systems of the twin cities, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Multan, Faisalabad, Quetta, Mardan, Nowshera and other cities face breaking down under the pressure of their growing populations.

The NDMA fears that unless the drainage systems were improved or replaced, the cities could be inundated in heavy rains.

Even the architects of the so-called modern and planned federal capital failed to lay proper drainage system in the city, according to the survey. A spell of just half an hour of heavy rain inundated most parts of the city, including parliament house and presidency, it noted.

Water accumulates under the newly-constructed flyovers and bridges after every cloudburst in the capital city due to flawed drainage system, it said.

Criticising the citizens, the survey noted that they also failed to install proper drainage systems while building new homes.

The drainage system of Rawalpindi needs improvement because the city faces vast scale inundation from Nullah Leh every year that causes loss of several lives and property worth millions of rupees. The 19-km-long Nullah starts from I. J. Principal Road and enters River Soan after 11 main drains join it at different points.

Army provided free Medical treatment to Dengue Patients in Punjab

“The affected people will be provided free treatment at the facility,” a handout issued by the ISPR on Sunday said.

It said the army had also established 11 free medical screening and diagnostic camps in the surrounding areas of Lahore Cantonment exclusively for civil population affected by this tropical disease.

A team of specialist doctors of the Army Medical Corps would be available from 8am to 5pm at these free medical camps established at Bedian Road; Garrison Health Centre, Cavalry Ground; Near Khalid Mosque; Mehfoozpura; near Ghazi Grid Station, Cantonment General Hospital, Saddar; Askari-X; Zarrar Shaheed Road and Masjid Chowk DHA Phase 1; Beacon House School DHA Phase 3; Commercial area and DHA Phase 5.

Besides, mobile medical teams of army paramedical staff had been assigned duty to visit suburbs of Lahore Cantonment to facilitate minor treatment of infected patients at their doorstep.

Flood situation in Sindh

Another spell of rains which may be heavy to very heavy at places is beginning mainly over Sindh from Monday (today) evening, adding to the miseries of the people already battered by two earlier rounds of devastating downpours.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department said on Sunday the rains would be coupled with strong winds and they were likely to affect Badin, Mirpur Khas, Umar Kot, Thatha and Hyderabad.

According to synoptic situation, the fearful monsoon low over western Bihar moved west-northwest wards on Sunday and lay over northern Madhya Pradesh (India) as a well marked monsoon low.

Weak moist current from the Bay of Bengal was penetrating into Sindh up to 4000 feet and was likely to intensify during the next 24 hours.

Flood Forecasting Division’s chief Riaz Khan said that the system was still away from Pakistan. But it gained strength on Sunday and was likely to move over to Indian Rajasthan, which was closer to Pakistan, in the next 24 hours.

If this happened, the system might start affecting lower Sindh by Monday evening or on Tuesday. But as moisture from the system was already penetrating into Sindh and Punjab, there could be scattered rain at a few places in these two provinces in the next 24 hours.

Mr Khan said that the strength or rain generating potential of the system was not less than the one which just dissipated on Sunday after playing havoc in Sindh for nearly 13 days.

Met department’s evening forecast said that fairly widespread thunderstorm/rain with heavy to very heavy falls was expected at isolated places over Sindh and East Balochistan from Tuesday. Scattered thunderstorm/rain with heavy falls at isolated places was also forecast over south Punjab.

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