QUETTA: Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who heads the judicial commission probing the Aug 8 suicide attack in Quetta, has termed the performance of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) unsatisfactory, observing that elements involved in targeted killings and bomb blasts were moving about freely in the country.

The judge, during the commission’s proceedings on Monday, said that taking up arms against any citizen was a criminal offence and the people doing so were enemies of humanity.

The National Coordinator of Nacta, Ehsan Ghani, appeared before the commission and in response to a question, bemoaned that Nacta had no powers.

However, he added, the organisation was doing its bit to fight terrorism and extremism.

“We are working with the Ettihad Tanzeem Wifaqul Madaris to thrash out a plan for registration of madressahs,” Mr Ghani said.

A meeting of the Ulema is scheduled in Islamabad for Nov 4 and it is expected to address major issues facing mosques and madressahs, he said.

The Nacta coordinator informed the commission that 98 million mobile Sims had been blocked in the country. He also claimed that targeted killings had gone down by 98 per cent across the country.

However, Justice Isa was not impressed with the Nacta official’s statement, saying that the organisation had no data on crime.

Mr Ghani informed the commission that Nacta had asked the provinces in writing to provide crime data, but no province had done so.

Upon a query by the commission, Mr Ghani said that implementation of the National Action Programme was a responsibility of the provinces and not that of Nacta. He said a report regarding the Quetta carnage had been sent to the prime minister.

Mr Ghani told the commission that he was not aware about any meeting between the leaders of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in Islamabad.

However, he clarified that he had come across reports in media that leaders of the organisation had raised the matter of blocking of identity cards at a meeting with the minister recently.

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2016