Waziristan, Pakistan's Success Story In Counter-Terrorism Efforts

By Nik Nurfaqih Nik Wil and Yasmin Zukiman KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 (Bernama) -- North Waziristan, a tribal area in Northwestern Pakistan, was once a terrorist hideout. However, it has undergone vast changes over the past one and a half years. The former base for hardcore terrorist groups such as the Taliban and Al-Qaeda is now enjoying some sense of law and order. "The people in the area could now enjoy life and the businesses are open like usual, unlike before with the terrorism threat here and there," said Pakistan's High Commissioner to Malaysia, Syed Hassan Raza. He told Bernama in an exclusive interview recently that North Waziristan is a good example of the success in countering terrorism and Pakistan is ready to share its success story with other Muslim nations. Located along the border with Afghanistan, the Federal Administered Tribal Area is now among the many districts in Pakistan enjoying the impact from the country's counter-terrorism offensive dubbed as the "Zarb-e-Azb". TOTAL ELIMINATION OF TERRORISM Syed pointed out since launching the operation in June 2014, Pakistan has successfully eliminated 95 percent of the terrorism threats, from an average of 297 threats per month to only 15 a month. Since the operation started, a total of 3,400 terrorists have been killed in 'eye ball to eye ball' combat and 837 terrorists hideouts nationwide have been destroyed. Over 13,000 intellingence based operations were conducted throughout the country whereby 183 hardcore terrorists were killed and 21,193 arrested. The intelligence operations are ongoing to apprehend the remaining terrorists. The security forces also confisticated thousands of weapons, caches or ammunition, explosives and communication equipment. "After the Peshawar school massacre in December 2014, we had enough. We decided that there will be zero tolerance. Either you (terrorists) live or we live, the people of Pakistan had been tormented enough," he said. Apart from that, Syed shared that a total of 142 terrorist related cases had been referred to 11 military courts where 55 cases have been decided and 31 hardcore terrorists had been convicted. However, peace came with a price when Pakistan's armed forces witnessed 450 of its personnel turning into martyrs. NATIONAL ACTION PLAN POLICY The Government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif adopted the National Action Plan in January 2015 with the cooperation of all political forces in the country and the strong backing of the Parliament. The plan among others allowed special courts headed by the officers of the armed forces to speed up trials for terrorists. Within the plan, Syed pointed out that efforts to crackdown hate-speech have been be carried out including action against newspapers, magazines contributing to the spread of such speech. "Financing for terrorists and their organisations will also be blocked, while madrassas (Sekolah pondok) nationwide will be regulated," he said. Pakistan has even gone offensive on cyberspace, as terrorism had reached Internet and the social media. Pakistan has frozen a number of accounts used to funnel US$97.26 million (Rs 10.2 billion) in cash to terror suspects, while the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has verified more than 70 million SIMs and 11 million SIMs blocked. DERADICALISATION EFFORTS In its effort to bring those involved in militancy back on the right path, Syed noted Pakistan has taken major steps in its deradicalisation process. This include the setting up of two schools of which morale and true religious values were propagated to ex-militants. Syed noted that both schools established in 2009 were targeted towards young men aged between the ages of 15 and 35. At the schools, the ex-militants undergo skills training that is useful for them to get into the employment sector. "What we are trying to do is addressing the problem at all levels, on the ideological and religious aspects as well as economic and social aspects to eliminate elements of radicalization," he said. Since established, the school has successfully deradicalised 3,000 people. According to Syed, the religious school curriculum has also been revised in the deradicalisation process. The government also increased the amount lectures and talk shows via television condemning the acts of violence. "People are given the right picture that Islam is a religion of peace, which does not allow people to use any kind of force against the people who do not agree with them and that the life of every person is important whether he is a Muslim or not," he said. IS OR DAESH DOCTRINE ALREADY BANKRUPT? In spite of the long history of Pakistan being the victim of terrorist activities conducted by groups like Taliban and Al Qaeda, there is no place for the new IS or DAESH's doctrine in the country. In fact, Syed said the group does not have any foothold in Pakistan. "Though there are some sign of people showing sympathy to IS, but until now we do not have any IS activities that may become a security threat. He said the group's doctrine of setting up an Islamic Caliphate is simply unacceptable and unworkable. "Islam from the time of Prophet Muhammad was not based on sectarian, but is built on the Al-Quran and Sunnah," he said. Thus, he said, what is needed here is an alternative narrative, in this case the government and the people work together for the sake of the Ummah's unity. "The new generation has to be educated based on reason. Every Muslim government should provide education based on true values of Islam so that the young people's mind is not easily poisoned. Muslim societies should open discourse and engage in a dialogue. READY TO SHARE SUCCESS STORY WITH MALAYSIA AND THE WORLD With the success from its efforts, Pakistan is willing to share its success story and achievements in combating extremists threats in the world. Syed reaffirmed that his country had been working closely with the international community including the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation pertaining to the issue. "We have been a frontline state in rolling back the extremists, and this is our success story that we will like to share with the world. "We also have had a dialogue with Malaysian stakeholders in this aspect and are ready to share our experiences with other Muslim countries as well,” he said. Syed at the same time commended Malaysia's effort in organising the International Conference on Deradicalisation and Countering Violent Extremism 2016 to be held from Jan 25 to 26 in Kuala Lumpur. The conference, he said, would not only be an important platform for all parties to strengthen cooperation but also sharing ideas on ways to curb violence. --BERNAMA