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Policy Synopsis:

National Internal Security Policy (NISP) 2018-2023*

NISP 2018-2023 is a comprehensive framework of security that has been created with an unprecedented degree of consensus by all organs of state. The policy formulation process has been created under a “Whole of the Nation” approach (which is a process soliciting advice from organs of state and its representatives, security agencies and civil society). The first ever NISP 2014 had been formulated with a four-year horizon, and NISP 2018-2023 takes forward the previous policy by incorporating both the lessons learnt over the past few years and the updated security profile of Pakistan which has seen new dangers emerge (such as extremism) as older ones have been successfully curtailed. In order to provide a holistic response to security challenges, NISP 2018 focuses on three main domains of interventions:

Administrative (strengthening the ability of the state to respond to

security issues)

Ideational (challenging the ideological underpinnings of exclusionary

narratives)

Socio-Economic (addressing the deprivations that create breeding ground for security challenges to emerge)

NISP 2018 has been explicitly built upon the ethos of the teachings of Islam, the Quaid-e-Azam’s vision for Pakistan at Independence, the Constitution of The Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and Pakistan Vision 2025 developed in 2014 by the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform. This NISP is developed as a tribute to secure the sacrifices made by law enforcement agencies of the military and civilian sides to secure the life, prosperity and security of ordinary

*On 29th May, 2018, the Federal Cabinet approved the National Internal Security Policy (NISP) 2018-2023. The policy was presented to the cabinet by Dr. Adnan Rafiq on behalf of the Ministry of Interior and was ap- proved unanimously by the cabinet.

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Pakistanis in combatting the wave of terror that had embattled Pakistan earlier.

The announcement of NISP 2018 at this stage is also intended to provide a platform to capture the learning process the state has undergone in answering its festering security issues over the past decade, and to provide any incoming national or provincial governments a head start in the work of providing continuing security to the people of Pakistan. The implementing process of NISP 2018 allows flexibility for the new national and provincial governments to amend this strategy according to their own mandate and for emerging needs as they arise. The NISP 2018 sees security as a product of achieving both peace and the development of the country. To achieve this, it has four broad objectives: creating structures for the enforcement of the rule of law, bringing the country together through a shared vision that gives space to the many identities of the people of Pakistan, developing political stability from a shared vision and creating the conditions for economic and societal preconditions to achieve social justice.

To achieve the objectives and vision of NISP 2018-2023 the policy has a 6R strategy (reimagine, reconcile, redistribute, recognize, regional approach and reorient facets of the state and how it interfaces with its citizens). Policy provides 120 measures, however key priority areas as well as those required in the short, medium or long term have been identified to help efficient resource allocation. An elaborate implementation plan has been developed that includes for the first time in any government policy, the indicators to measure progress. The six policy prongs are summarized below:

Reorient: The state security apparatus must modernise not only its infrastructure and capacity, but also by redefining its raison d’etre. To do this the state must continue to improve strategic cooperation and coordination, an interprovincial Coordination Committee on Internal Security headed by Minister of Interior will be established at the levels of Chief Ministers and Home Ministers. NACTA will continue to take the lead on coordination among various state institutions. NACTA will develop stronger analytical capability at its Joint Intelligence Directorate (JID) to analyse the intelligence reports and ensure that

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critical information is shared with relevant stakeholders in a timely fashion. To this end, NACTA will provide a threat assessment in light of intelligence received from multiple agencies/sources. A comprehensive National Terrorism Database synchronized with the police departments of the country, NADRA, FIA and State Bank of Pakistan and other relevant departments and agencies will be established at NACTA. Intelligence gathering capacity of the Police and CTDs will be further enhanced through continued funding and training. Intelligence Based Operations (IBO’s) will be prioritized over other measures such as combing operations, stop & search and check points. All intelligence agencies will devise a uniform system of grading the intelligence reports with respect to their credibility and urgency.

The legal system will also be reformed (based on recommendations by NACTA and the Law and Justice Commission), such as simplifying the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, and Amendments in Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 will be made to prevent its abuse. Furthermore, all laws and clauses that conflict with one another will be amended to make the legal framework of Pakistan more coherent. Evidence law (qanoon-e-shahadat) will be amended/expanded to allow for recording of evidence through video link, Skype, video conferencing, use of screens or curtains to hide the identity of the witness as provided in Anti-Terrorism Act. The provinces will also be encouraged to introduce and implement witness protection programs in accordance with Witness Protection Act.

Police reforms will include establishing Police Oversight Bodies consisting of the Provincial Government (which has the ultimate responsibility of Superintendence of Police), members of civil society, Professionals (retired Judges, lawyers and/or Citizen-Police Liaison Committees) will be constituted to ensure overall institutional accountability at the Provincial level. For the purpose of internal accountability, each provincial police department shall create an internal affairs branch. LEAs will set up dedicated desks to provide information under the ‘Right to Information’ Act. LEAs will establish strategic communications units to improve citizen liaison, dissemination of information

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and responsiveness to various stakeholders. Digital and Electronic record keeping systems will be established in all segments of the police organization. Police stations will be digitized and made accessible through electronic means. Collection of forensic evidence in all cases will be made mandatory by amending the Police rules. Compensation structure of LEAs will be amended to incorporate working hours, risks and stress level. Completion of forensic science laboratories will be prioritized in all provinces. Integrated national database comparing CNIC, Driving License, Finger prints, Immigration Entry/Exits, Toll Plaza Entries, Vehicle number plate, Arms License, mobile SIM details etc. will be set up. Criminal Record database will be unified at national level with the access available to all the law enforcement agencies.

An independent office of Prosecutor General will be established in all provinces. This will include mechanism to enhance accountability for failure of prosecution and curtail low conviction rates. Female Prosecutors will be posted in all districts. Preference will be given to their appointment particularly in cases involving females.

Prison security will be enhanced and only high security prisons will be used to house hardened terrorists. Terrorism convicts will be kept in isolation from other inmates to prevent potential radicalization within jails. A comprehensive de-radicalisation and rehabilitation program will be designed by the prison departments for the convicted terrorists. This will include economic rehabilitation of low level militants, and welfare programs for affected families. Reforming the sentencing structure for non-violent petty crimes will include alternatives to imprisonment such as fines, probation and community confinement, community services and psychological treatment of drug addicts. Family quarters will be established for conjugal rights. Under trial prisoners, who are expected to stay longer than six months in the prisons will be involved in skills development courses. Prisoners under imprisonment extending up to 14 years will be provided an opportunity to improve their educational qualification. Biometric System will be established at prisons linked to NADRA. Wages for convict labour will be at par with market/minimum wages.

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A National Cyber Security Strategy shall be developed to secure services and infrastructure from cyber-attacks. A combined civil-military cyber command force shall be established to ensure intra and inter agency coordination.

Facilitation and Regulation of Charities Act will be enacted to ensure that every penny donated into charity is accounted for. Existing laws will be reviewed and amended where necessary to bring them at par with international standards. An INGO policy has already been enforced by the Ministry of Interior to regulate the registration, working, funding, monitoring and other related aspects pertaining to all types of INGOs functioning in Pakistan. Efforts will be made to enforce an arms embargo, impose travel restrictions, freeze movable and immovable property and curtail the fund-raising ability of Proscribed organisations.

As a result of exalted pressure exerted through Operations Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad, a number of wanted terrorists have fled to safe heavens across the border in Afghanistan. Construction of required forts, fencing and posts along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border will be completed. Raising of additional FC Wings will be continued in three phases. First phase has already been completed in Financial Year 2016/17 and the next two phases will be completed by 2020. Operationalisation of formal crossing points along Pak- Afghan and Pak-Iran Border is also being carried out to promote trade, prevent illegal movement of persons, human trafficking, narcotics and other contraband items while facilitating movement of citizens across the countries.

Reimagine: Reimagining the society as a tolerant, inclusive and democratic polity will be pursued in order to strengthen a shared vision for the nation. Celebration of cultural and religious diversity will be one of the most important pillars of the new national narrative. A National Cultural Plan (NCP) will be charted to celebrate cultural activities and festivals of all faiths and ethnicities. A national interfaith harmony day will be celebrated annually to promote peaceful coexistence and acceptance of diversity. Departments dealing with culture, such as the censor board, will be restructured by engaging professionals. The

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government will continue to support Pakistani cinema and film industry by offering tax rebates as well as reduced sales tax and customs duty on import of film and drama production equipment. Tourism will be promoted in the country and tourist friendly policies will be adopted. Religious tourism will also be enhanced, reducing fears of people to visit shrines, temples etc.

Education reforms shall continue. Curriculum reforms will be one of the most important components of education system reforms. Across the board curriculum reform in both mainstream institutions and madrassas will be initiated to bring it in conformity with the new national narrative proposed above. In collaboration with the provinces, curriculum guidelines and standards will be developed to ensure that textbooks are free of hate content, racial, gender and regional stereotypes/prejudices and glorification of war and violence. Content on the modern concept of citizenship, which stresses commonalities among all people, irrespective of their backgrounds, and which derives its values from the basic fundamental rights enriched in the Constitution, will be developed. Teachers need to be trained on how to prevent the growth of violent extremism in classrooms and campuses.

Registration and regularization of madrassas in a uniform manner in all provinces will be ensured. In this regard, all provinces will be encouraged to develop legislation for mainstreaming madrassas and undertake madrassa reforms. Conditional state funding in return for a financial audit, adoption of national curriculum, teaching of science subjects and examinations system will be institutionalized. Avenues to switch from madrassa to the mainstream education system will be created at a level equivalent to years 5 and 10 of schooling.

Steps will be taken to ensure the strict implementation of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) regulations pertaining to hate speech, fake news, racial prejudice and the glorification of terrorism and terrorist organisations. 10% of the content earmarked for public service messages will be used to share messages against extremism.

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Reconcile: Reconciliation with individuals/groups willing to shun the path of violence will be pursued through a transparent mechanism established within the ambit of constitution. Many Muslim countries (such as Indonesia and Bangladesh) have formulated effective programs for re-integration and reconciliation with regards to former militants, which draws upon the militants and victims’ families, and the authority of respected community and religious figures. A mechanism will be developed to review cases of militants who agree to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies. Alternative livelihoods either by providing jobs, vocational trainings or other means will be provided to former militants once they are certified not being a security risk. As experimented with successfully in Indonesia, family members of foot soldiers who submit to surrender and rehabilitation programs, will be provided livelihood by the state in the meanwhile. Children of suspected and caught militants must be taken care of. This is important as leaving the next generation without support and viable guiding figures has been proven to increase vulnerability towards extremism and violence. Former militants, designated terrorists and members of armed gangs will be barred from political activities for a specified number of years depending on the nature of their activities. NACTA will compile data on Pakistani individuals linked with terror organizations involved in war theatres abroad. Appropriate action will be taken to deal with returning fighters. Compensation Packages for the personnel/people who lose their lives and limbs will be made uniform across the country.

Redistribute: Redistributive mechanisms will be enhanced and expanded to provide social protection to marginalized groups in order to provide social justice. Marginalization, poverty and political deprivation among several other reasons have been identified as the major causes of the development of feelings of alienation and disgruntlement among the population and have led to breakdown of state and society throughout history.

Creating more space for young people within various tiers of government including local bodies will be done. This includes involving youth in policy

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making processes of the state and creating opportunities for them in the public sector through internships and fellowship schemes. Making public spaces women friendly to increase their participation in public life. Young people of the marginalized areas shall be uplifted by providing preferred access to colleges and universities as well as vocational training. Catalysing job creation by incentivizing investmentinproductivesectorsoftheeconomye.g.manufacturing,encouraging the establishment of Small & Medium enterprises, providing entrepreneurship training and easing access to credit for youth. Government will introduce credit and loan schemes to give young people easy and affordable access to finance. Moreover, bottlenecks in regulation regimes will be removed to encourage and incentivise young entrepreneurs to register businesses. Social safety nets (e.g. BISP) and health schemes for the most vulnerable sections of the society will be expanded. Government will ensure higher expenditure in infrastructure and the social sector in less developed districts of the country. Inhabitants of less developed areas will be given priority in public sector jobs through affirmative action. Government will remain committed to the implementation of Khushhal Balochistan program for provisioning of additional funds for socio-economic uplift of the province. Ensure the rapid development of FATA through additional resources for a period of at least five years and assure the timely development of the administrative infrastructure required for transition to the new dispensation. Build the capacity of the administrative and legal institutions under the new arrangements including the capacity of Law Enforcing Agencies (LEAs) to enable them to perform normal policing functions. Marginalized groups such as women, transgender and differently abled persons will be mainstreamed by facilitating their inclusion in educational institutions as well as public and private sector workforce through affirmative action. Vacant seats on quotas under these categories (where available) will be filled on priority basis. Anti Honour Killing Act, Anti Rape Bill and Acid and Burn Crime Bill will be strictly enforced/ approved and further strengthened by including modern scientific investigative methods such as DNA sampling to curb gender-based violence.

Regional Approach: To imagine a National Internal Security Policy without

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taking into consideration the global or regional environment, its dynamics and interplay on the internal security situation will be naïve and lead to flawed assumptions. Pakistan will continue to work with the global community to ensure peace and stability. Pakistani soil will not be allowed to be used by any non-state actor to launch attacks outside the country. In particular, Afghanistan- Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity will be implemented to achieve the common objectives of eliminating terrorism and ensuring regional peace. Mechanisms will be developed for intelligence sharing to evolve a joint approach to common threats. A sharp focus will be placed on geo-economics and regional cooperation. Neighbouring countries will be encouraged to be a part of CPEC. Gwadar port will be made a hub of regional and international trade, Pakistan will play a crucial role as a regional pivot capitalizing on its strategic location at the crossroads of Asia with China as its neighbour in the north, India in the east, and Iran and Afghanistan in the west. Counter-intelligence efforts to expose foreign connections of militant groups operating in Pakistan will be enhanced.

Recognize: Research capacity within the state and society will be enhanced to developed better understanding of security challenges and inform policy in this area. Key priority areas in this regard are to bring research in social sciences and humanities at par with that in STEM areas, move towards evidence- based policy making and enhance analytical capacity within the Ministries of Interior, Information and Broadcast and NACTA to improve decision/policy making. Security Analysis & Research Cell (SARC) at Ministry of Interior run by professionals will be established to provide research and analysis capability to develop deeper understanding of security challenges. The Counter Terrorism and Counter Extremism Centres of Excellence will be established at NACTA run by professionals to provide research, analysis and training support to various arms of government. Centers of research excellence – operating with “wider” definitions of security – will be established at the major varsities in each province and each major city with funding from state and private donors to promote research on aspects of extremism, insecurity and securitization from critical political economy, social, humanitarian, and anthropological perspectives.

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Funds will be provided to each public university to invite scholars working on Pakistani and South Asian history and society abroad to come and give lectures, lead discussions and study circles with local students. This will increase the next generation’s exposure to diverse viewpoints and ameliorate binaries which promote extremism such as “East-West”, “traditional-modern” etc.

The proportion of HEC MS/MPhil/PhD scholarships for social science and humanities will be brought at par with those provided to scholars pursuing STEM fields. Student societies, fully managed by students through elected councils will be promoted on campuses along with ensuring their adherence to non-violence. These will provide training grounds for students to learn the deliberative mechanisms of democracy, and a focus on resolving outstanding issues through debate, negotiation and concession. This can provide an effective antidote to prevailing alienation which increases vulnerability and susceptibility to violent narratives.

Notes:

•The first NISP was announced in 2014.

•There were 1816 incidents of terrorism in 2014, there has been a steep decline in these since.

•66 organisations were proscribed with 7,966 individuals placed under watch as of March 2018.

•Over 90% of geo-mapping of Madaris has been completed as of present.

•Karachi has seen a 97% decrease in target killings as of 2018, 87% in the murder rate, 84% in cases of business extortion and 72% in bank robberies.

•Over 1.38 million Afghan refugees have been registered under the Tripartite Agreement for Voluntary Repatriation, the most extensive voluntary repatriation program recorded by the UNHCR.

•Pakistan has lost thousands of lives and suffered a loss of $123 billion over the past 15 years on account of terrorism.

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•Pakistan’s demographic profile includes 60% youth, the highest percentage this has ever been in Pakistan’s history.

•The details provided in this synopsis are a partial accounting of the full NISP

2018-2023 policy that have been truncated for space in these pages.

This is not the complete policy draft, but a synopsis comprising its key aspects.

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