Interior
Minister Professor Ahsan Iqbal chaired a high level meeting in Islamabad on
formation of National Internal Security Policy (NISP) 2018-2023 . Meeting was
attended by officials from Law enforcement agencies, Counter Terrorism Force ,
Home Ministries of provincial Government , HEC and Ministry of Interior.
Interior
Minister said that the Roadmap for formulation of National Internal Security
Policy 2018-2023 is centered on the goals defined in vision 2025 that envisages
a sharing peace ,stability and development link ,which is key for progress of
any nation.
Interior
Minister added that we have steered the country towards progress by
enabling peace and Political stability to take root in the country. He said
that we have to take practical steps now to consolidate the gains
made and improve our capabilities for the new and future threats to our
peace and security.
Interior Minister
said that Political stability plays vital role for development
,which requires avoiding conflicts in all forms and manifestations .
National Security has become a broad subject with social , political and
economic dimensions gaining importance . The nature of threats is changing with
technological revolution . CPEC has changed Geo-Political equilibrium in the
region due to which new Geo-Political pressures are developing on Pakistan. We
must develop a comprehensive approach with the ownership of all stakeholders to
succeed in implementation.
He also
stressed that youth in Pakistan constitutes a major part of the population and
is an asset for the country . It is our priority to mobilize our
youth towards peace and stability by providing them with the enabling
environment.
He stated
that new internal security policy framework is directed towards establishing
a new paradigm for policy on security and peace. A more
empirical and evidence based approach focused on the implementation of
the goals has been adopted.
Interior
Minister also said that ownership and participation of the key government
departments as well as that of the key state institutions and broader civil
society is critical for its success and implementation.
He
therefore requested feedback from all the stakeholders and their continued
engagement during the policy making process. He also added that internal and
external affairs are interconnected and have implications on the domestic and
foreign policies.
Moreover,
Steps have been envisaged in the Framework to formulate the policy Planning and
Initial meeting with internal stakeholders , Desk Research, Consultation
sessions with relevant stakeholders, National internal security conference,
Expert interviews , Data Analysis , Reconciling differing views,
Circulating initial draft for feedback , Developing and refining a final draft
, Seeking executive approval , Setting up mechanism for implementation
and Launching /dissemination of policy.
It is to be noted
that basic tenets of the policy encapsulates the four key areas to
improve peace and security viz: creating a shared vision, establishing rule of
law , ensuring political stability and providing social justice.
The Policy
framework has also identified Political Parties/Policy makers,
Academics/Analysts , Educationists , Journalists/Media Personnel, Religious
Scholars , Legal Experts, Civil Society Organizations and
Representatives of Marginalized Groups (Youth, Minorities, Women who will be
engaged during the process of policy formulation) as major stakeholders.
The key
inputs required from the government departments include: An assessment of the
key initiatives that have been effective in ensuring security and those that
are now redundant and assessment of key bottlenecks and blockages that impede
optimal performance and Suggestions to remove these impediments and make
government departments and LEAs more effective
It was
recognized that similar policy exercises in the past lacked implementation,
therefore detailed implementation strategy; monitoring and evaluation mechanism
and the funding requirements will be included in the policy and given
particular attention.
The
participants approved the detailed roadmap for the policy formulation process
that includes three rounds of consultation sessions involving key stakeholders
and a national conference on internal security.
This
represents a move towards evidence-based policy making in order to design
policy interventions that deal with not only the symptoms, but also the root
causes of security issues.