KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has unveiled its recommendations on the national counter-terrorism policy in which it has stressed the need for formulating and enforcing protection programmes for judges and witnesses as soon as possible.

Speaking at a press conference at the party’s headquarters on Saturday, MQM’s leaders and lawmakers said military courts were not a permanent solution to control terrorism and militancy in the country. “The government will have to modernise the policing system and take effective measures to protect judges and witnesses,” said Senator Farogh Naseem.

Senior lawmaker Farooq Sattar said establishing and evolving effective local governments, community policing and neighbourhood watch and ward were necessary to make any counter-terrorism policy successful.

He said making the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta) — establis­hed under the Nacta Act 2013 — functional and assertive was the need of the hour.

Qamar Mansoor, the chief of MQM’s Coordination Committee for Pakistan, said the terrorist attack on the Peshawar school was the country’s 9/11, which had shocked the entire nation.

He said terrorism had engulfed the entire country and “terrorists are threatening other schools in various parts of Pakistan”.

In their recommendations, MQM said a parliamentary committee should act as a council to oversee the functioning of Nacta. Also, coordination between federal and provincial agencies with regular information sharing was vitally important.

It recommended that rapid response forces be set up at the federal, provincial and district levels. Forensic laboratories and tissue and DNA matching facilities should be provided at all the levels.

Suggestions about de-radicalisation of society and effective disaster management measures in the wake of terrorist attacks were mentioned in other recommendations.

The MQM also called for formation of a regional forum of ‘relevant countries’ to specifically work as a body to counter regional terrorism.

They said MQM had “very reluctantly” accepted the establishment of military courts provided necessary amendments were first made in the Constitution and that assurances were given that such courts would be temporary.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2014