After Peshawar: Domestic Security in Pakistan
December 16, 2014, may well have been Pakistan’s September 11. On January 27, the U.S. Institute of Peace held a panel discussion assessing Pakistan’s domestic security situation in the wake of the attack on the Army Public School and Degree College in Peshawar.
In the wake of the brutal attack that day, Pakistani civilian and military policymakers came together to formulate a new National Action Plan, making fresh pledges of concerted action against the full host of militant groups operating within Pakistan.
The new security agenda has led to a controversial amendment of the Pakistani constitution to institute new military-run courts for terrorist suspects. Capital punishment has resumed. New initiatives seek to curtail terrorist financing and media access. And combat actions continue in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
But will Pakistan be able to turn the corner even after all this? Already for some time, Pakistani officials have struggled to coordinate the actions of military, police, and civilian agencies. The process has been made even more complex by devolution of powers that have placed provinces in charge of many security responsibilities that fall within the counterterrorism domain. Continue the conversation on Twitter with #PakAfterPeshawar.
Speakers
- Raza Ahmad Rumi
Senior Expert in Residence, U.S. Institute of Peace - Zulfiqar Hameed
Carnegie Fellow, New America Foundation; Deputy Inspector General, Pakistan Police - Peter Lavoy
Partner, Monitor360 - Moeed Yusuf, Moderator
Director of South Asia Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace
