Officials told Business Recorder that at present civilian monitoring and intelligence gathering system does not have the capacity to deal with the security challenges facing the country. A senior official of Interior Ministry who wished not to be named told Business Recorder that the establishment of effective intelligence gathering system would enable law enforcement agencies to collect intelligence in advance of a planned attack and then to take effective measures to forestall the attack.
"A lack of hi-tech equipment with the law enforcement agencies is another major obstacle in effectively dealing with terrorism and other heinous crimes, and there is a need to equip them with modern equipment and training," he added. Afzal Ali Shigri, a security analyst and former IGP Sindh, said a strong and well-equipped information gathering system is the need of the hour, adding that without an effective intelligence system it would be impossible to win the war on terror.
"The intelligence gathering system should be established at police station level across the country which should liaise with National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) to avert any untoward incident," he said. He said the total strength of civil law enforcement agencies including police, FC and Rangers is around 450,000 which is not sufficient to cope with the current challenges. "The government needs to make fresh recruitments in the civil law enforcement agencies besides providing them with sufficient resources and equipment," he said.
Shigri said that Pakistan is fighting the war against terrorism for the last many years but there is still no high security prison and "the proof is in the jailbreak and escape of high profile terrorists in Bannu." According to him, high security prisons must be established across the country for high profile terrorists after their arrest. Former IGP Zulfiqar Ahmad Cheema said that effective intelligence gathering system should be given top priority besides capacity building of law enforcement agencies. He said the personnel of law enforcement agencies should be trained according to the prevailing situation in the country and should be equipped with modern arms.
Muhammad Amir Rana, member expert group of the NAP and Director of Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), said that the absence of proper training is one of the major reasons behind the failure of law enforcement agencies to effectively undertake counter-terrorism measures. He underscored the need for capacity building of law enforcement agencies and setting up effective intelligence gathering system with a view to ensuring better co-ordination between intelligence agencies within two years to combat terrorism.