When the National Action Plan was formulated after the tragedy of Army Public School in 2014, Pakistan had reached a point where terrorism could no longer be treated merely as a security problem. It was a national crisis requiring a national response.
That is why I believe the National Action Plan remains one of the most important policy frameworks Pakistan has produced in the fight against terrorism. Its points were not drafted casually. They were debated, examined and ultimately adopted through the country’s political process. The basic direction was sound.
The real problem has never been the absence of a blueprint. It has been the inconsistency with which parts of that blueprint have been implemented.
Kinetic Operations Alone Cannot Win the War
Our security forces continue to fight terrorism on the front line, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Their sacrifices are visible every day. Police, Frontier Corps and armed forces personnel continue to put their lives at risk so that ordinary citizens can live and work in relative safety.
But terrorism cannot be defeated permanently through kinetic operations alone.
A terrorist may be eliminated today, but if his financing survives, his propaganda survives, his recruitment network survives and his facilitators remain untouched, another terrorist can emerge tomorrow.
This is precisely why the National Action Plan must be viewed as a complete national strategy rather than a document associated only with military operations.
Criminal justice, countering extremist narratives, stopping terrorist financing, regulating hate speech and strengthening law-enforcement institutions are not secondary matters. They are central components of counter-terrorism.
One particularly damaging practice is political interference in criminal cases. Political parties have every constitutional right to pursue their political agendas, protest peacefully and criticize governments. But that right cannot become a shield for criminality.
If an individual is accused of a crime, the matter should be decided through due process and the courts. Political influence should not be used to pressure police, secure the release of suspects or obstruct investigations. Once this culture takes root, the entire criminal justice system becomes weaker.
The Information Battlefield Is Growing
There is another battlefield that did not have the same significance when the original National Action Plan was formulated: social media.
Technology cannot be stopped, nor should it be. But the state must develop the capability to distinguish legitimate criticism and political expression from incitement, deliberate disinformation, terrorist propaganda and coordinated attempts to create panic.
The answer is not blanket censorship. The answer is stronger institutions, better digital investigation capabilities and enforcement of the law against those who deliberately cross the line into criminal activity.
False information can travel across the country in minutes. A fabricated claim, an inflammatory video or an invented security story can create confusion before authorities even have an opportunity to respond.
This is why the state’s response must become faster, more professional and technologically capable.
The Former Tribal Areas Need Time, Capacity and the Rule of Law
The merger of the former FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was a major constitutional and administrative step. But integration cannot be completed merely by changing a legal status on paper.
Police stations, courts, prosecution services, intelligence coordination and local administration all need time and resources to develop the same effectiveness that exists in settled districts.
The challenge is even greater because these areas face a cross-border terrorist threat. The instability across the border and the ability of terrorist networks to exploit difficult terrain make the establishment of an effective state writ essential.
This is why strengthening the police and law-enforcement architecture of the merged districts must remain a national priority. The state must ensure that citizens have both security and access to justice.
At the same time, communities should understand that cooperation with law-enforcement agencies is not an act against their own interests. If terrorists are hiding among civilians, the population itself becomes vulnerable. Reporting suspicious activity, distancing civilians from terrorist positions and allowing security forces to act against armed groups are measures that protect communities rather than target them.
Follow the Money, Follow the Network
Terrorism also requires money.
Weapons, explosives, recruitment, transportation and propaganda all require financing. Therefore, counter-terrorism efforts must follow the financial trail as aggressively as they follow terrorist movements.
Pakistan should strengthen financial intelligence, disrupt informal funding channels, target facilitators and improve coordination between law-enforcement, intelligence and financial institutions.
The same principle applies to foreign-supported terrorist networks. Where evidence establishes external financing, training, facilitation or logistical support, Pakistan must expose those networks diplomatically as well as dismantle them operationally.
NAP Must Become a Living National Strategy
I do not believe Pakistan needs to reinvent the wheel. The National Action Plan already provides a broad framework.
What Pakistan needs is sustained implementation.
Political parties, governments, parliament, courts, law-enforcement agencies, civil society and the media all have responsibilities. Criticism is legitimate, political competition is legitimate and peaceful protest is legitimate. None of these should be confused with protecting criminal activity or providing space to extremist and terrorist networks.
Our security forces have demonstrated repeatedly that they possess the capability and determination to confront terrorism. But the battlefield is only one part of the equation.
If we close the gaps in criminal justice, dismantle terrorist financing, strengthen police institutions, confront extremist propaganda and build effective state authority in vulnerable areas, the terrorists will find far fewer places to hide.
The National Action Plan should therefore not be treated as an old document sitting on a shelf. It should be treated as a living national commitment.
The more faithfully Pakistan implements it, the stronger Pakistan becomes.
