Pakistan PM blames Imran Khan govt for 56% rise in terrorist activities in 2021

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lambasted his predecessor Imran Khan for not implementing the National Action Plan (NAP) during his tenure and said this resulted in the abrupt increase in terror activities in the country. He said that his government has been assessing the situation since the very first day of taking the oath and assured the countrymen to restore NAP at the earliest. The acknowledgement from the Pakistan Prime Minister came in the backdrop of a report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) that claimed the country witnessed a 56% surge in terror activities in the past year. As per the report, militants carried out 294 attacks, killing 388 people and wounding another 606 in 2021.

PM Shehbaz, who chaired a meeting on law and order in Lahore on Sunday, said, "The role of the provinces in the National Action Plan will be restored, which did not exist in the last four years" and added that because of ignoring the role of provinces in NAP, terrorism has increased in the last four years. According to The Express Tribune, the Prime Minister accused the earlier regime of ignoring the significance of the action plan. He accused Khan of offering a free hand to terrorism. It is worth mentioning the country had witnessed one of the horrific incidents in December 2014, wherein a terror attack on an Army Public School killed at least nearly 150 people. According to Pakistani media, around 132 children were killed in the deadly attack.

Subsequently, a national consensus was evolved to come down hard on the terrorists through a concerted national effort. Within a week, Pakistan's interior ministry in consultation with all stakeholders had also approved a 20-point NAP for countering terrorism and extremism. However, it could not affect the determination of the terrorists and the country witnessed a number of deadly attacks. According to Sharif, NAP had spelt out the specifics for the counter-terrorism drive in the country involving provincial governments, which was allegedly ignored by the Imran Khan-led government.

Pakistan to remain on FATF 'Grey List'

Further, during the meeting, Pakistani media reported that Sharif expressed concerns over the rise in street crime. Notably, the meeting was also significant as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global money-laundering and terror-financing watchdog, had said the country will continue to be on the "Grey List" of FATF. It noted that Islamabad may be removed from the list after an on-site visit to verify the implementation of its reforms on countering terror-financing mechanisms.
"Pakistan is not being removed from the Grey List today. It will be removed if the on-site visit finds that its actions are sustainable," outgoing FATF president Marcus Pleyer said.

Image: AP/Facebook/Shehbaz Sharif