The resolution endorsing support for military action in North Waziristan that started on June 15, 2014, was issued after a meeting of Civil Society Organization’s held in Karachi on June 16. The civil society organizations, intelligentsia and a number of politicians have been demanding for quite some time that the government and the military move against terrorist groups involved in indiscriminate killings of people at large.

By posting this joint resolution, Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) also endorses the civil society call for a definitive offensive against terrorist havens in the Pakistan-Afghan border regions, and in Waziristan in particular.

We, the representatives of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), fully support military operation in North Waziristan launched under the direction of the Federal Government and assert that the nation must stand behind our military and democratic forces as no country can allow insurgents to control parts of its territory.

While appreciating the operation, the Civil Society Organizations demands:

• Pakistan should declare all terrorist and militant groups, including both their foreign and Pakistani supporters, as enemy of State
• State machinery should take action to eliminate these terrorist and militant groups
• State machinery should take action to de-weaponize Pakistan
• State should prohibit all political parties to organize and establish armed militant wings to show their power of militancy.
• The terms of existing discourse where terrorists and militants are seen as our ‘brothers’ should be changed to reflect what they really are – the enemies of Pakistan
• Government should tighten and implement regulations through PEMRA and other means to ensure that terrorists and militant groups, banned outfits and their supporters are not given space on media to incite people to violence
• A commission should be formed to highlight the security lapses that contributed to the Karachi Airport attack and fix responsibility for these lapses, in order to improve security and take actions to prevent and deal with such attacks in the future
• Civil society should have representation on this commission

Civil society stands united against extremism and its manifestations that have led to loss of thousands of innocent Pakistani lives. Civil society organizations in Karachi have embarked on a consultative process to take forward its position and stand on terrorism and its elimination from Pakistan.

The representatives of civil society organizations, who met here to deliberate upon the situation, also observed that Pakistan has lost more than 70,000 lives in terror attacks in last 12 years. Terrorists and militants have carried out suicide attacks, rocket attacks, remote controlled bombings, abductions and beheadings. They have targeted government offices, Pakistan’s army, navy and air force bases, buildings of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, industrial sites, educational and training institutions, bazaars, hotels, mosques, playgrounds, men, women and children of Pakistan.  It appears that they have stockpiles of sophisticated weapons and are better armed and organized than our law enforcement agencies, and have demonstrated capability of penetration into the heart of Pakistan’s security apparatus.  On June 8, 2014 they attacked Pakistan’s largest and busiest airport where at least 10 militants armed with automatic weapons, a rocket launcher, suicide vests and grenades, killed 11 Pakistanis and wounded 18. Another eight (8) people were killed in the resulting fire. While the 10 attackers were eventually brought down by personnel of Airport Security Force and other agencies, they caused mayhem at the airport and exposed gaping holes in our national security system. These terrorists have taken actions that are tantamount to declaring war on Pakistan and Pakistanis.

The meeting also noted that longer term actions are required to combat the rising militancy. The CSOs’ representatives believe that the engagement with terrorists and militants by state actors and many groups within Pakistan’s social fabric, has led to a situation where Pakistani society has become highly polarized. It can be seen that public opinion is being shaped by right wing conservative religious groups whose polemic endorses the actions of the militants and terrorists groups, and that this polemic has a wide base of support in the print and electronic media, social media and universities, in addition to the madrassas and mosques which spew hate speeches and materials with impunity. Centralist and shrinking liberal and left wing groups have conceded space not only to aggressive militant groups but also to fundamentalist thinking.

The participants of the meeting felt that the move to redefine the basis of Pakistan and the thinking of the father of the nation is deplorable. They believe that many long-term measures over the next decades are needed to be taken by government and all sectors of society to reclaim the space to be a progressive nation where the right to life of Pakistani citizens comes first. The measures should include:

• Teachings of all religions on tolerance and harmony should be part of curricula of educational institutions
• Civil society should have constant engagement with media to transform its current dangerous and negative rhetoric that compromises national security and glorifies the actions of militants, terrorists and radical extremists
• All mosques, madrassas and related establishments should be registered and their accounts audited, as per law, which should be strictly implemented
• All illegal establishments as above should be brought to book
• Jihadi literature and brainwashing of young people should be banned, as per law (Section 153-A of PPC) Pakistan Penal Code
• A code of ethics for media should be developed, as well as stringent legal and administrative parameters, as per global practices.

Participating Organizations

HRCP

Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS)

Aurat Foundation

CPLC

WAR

Network for Women’s Rights

Shirkatgah

Legal Rights’ Forum

HANDS

WAF

Joint Action Committee (JAC)

Binte Fatima

Roshni Helpline

Mahnaz Rahman,

RD, APISF