The  National   Institute   of  Public  Policy   (NIPP)  organised  a  roundtable  discussion  on “Challenges  of  Internal  Security:  Need  for  Implementation  of  National  Security  Policy  and Strategy” in Lahore on Tuesday, 23rd April 2024. The  panel  featured  prominent  experts  and  practitioners  including  Lt  General  Bilal  Akbar (Retd),  former  Corps  Commander  and  DG  Rangers  Karachi,  Mr.  Shaukat Javaid  former  IG Police, Punjab, Dr. Akbar Nasir Khan, IG Police Islamabad, Muhammad Amir Rana, Security Analyst, Director PIPS and Dr. Shabana Fayyaz, Chairperson DSS , QAU. The  session  was  moderated  by  Dr.  Naveed  Elahi,  Dean  NIPP.  It  was  attended  by  Research Associates and Research Fellows of NIPP, including Dr. Saifullah Khalid, Ms Sabina Babar, Dr. Sumreen, Dr. Ali Abbas, Habibullah Khan Addl. Director, Mr. Sajid Sultan and others. Dean, Dr. Elahi stated that Pakistan was facing serious internal security challenges since long; terrorism and insurgencies have claimed thousands of lives and have become existential threat to  the  country.  Ironically, at  least  four  National  security  policies  and  plans  have  been formulated during the last one decade, but their implementation is problematic. Situation has gone from bad to worse. To address these multifaceted challenges effectively, Pakistan must adopt a comprehensive and integrated national security policy and CT strategy to address its internal and external security concerns.

Ms.  Sabina  Babar  presented  a  research  report  on  spike  in  terrorism  and  slackness  in implementation of security policies. The  discussion  highlighted  the  causes  and  effects  of  Pakistan’s  persistent  internal  security threats like terrorism, extremism, insurgencies, sectarianism etc. The panelists identified lack of political will as the main reason of non-implementation of multiple security policies drafted over the last decade.

The panelists underscored the need for political will to implement national security policies across successive governments, and to ensure parliamentary oversight to ensure continuity of these policies. Furthermore, they stressed the need for united endeavours of civil and military forces to play their roles in a sustained manner. The panelists recommended a unified counter-terrorism strategy in coordination with military, civilian  law  enforcement  and  judiciary.  Strengthening  intelligence  coordination,  capacity building  of  provincial  counterterrorism  departments,  and  choking  terrorist  financing  were highlighted as critical measures. NIPP  aims  to  build  consensus  on  actionable  strategies  emerging  from  the  roundtable  for effective policy implementation