The Prime Minister (PM) chaired a meeting of top military leaders and federal ministers at the Prime Minister’s House on Wednesday to evaluate the progress of the National Action Plan (NAP) and the military operations against militants in the country’s north. The repatriation of the temporarily displaced people (TDP) was also discussed, since Operation Zarb-e-Azb is about to come to an end. Civilian and military establishments come together from time to time to review the progress of the various counterterrorism operations in the country. Yet, the shortcomings of NAP have still not been identified and rectified by the government. From the official accounts that have been coming in from FATA, it seems that the military is cracking down on the entrenched militants in the region, scores of whom have either fled or been killed, and eliminating their strongholds. While it is possible to temporarily relocate the civilian population of areas like North Waziristan to launch extensive military operations there, the only way to catch terrorists in urban, suburban and other densely populated areas is by conducting targeted, intelligence-guided operations against terrorist cells to pre-empt attacks and minimise civilian casualties as much as possible. But the intelligence sharing that is necessary between agencies and the military is lacking, which is why NAP has not been successful. Reports of Hazaras being killed in Balochistan keep coming out by the day and the law and order situation in Karachi is still not under control.Three police officers were gunned down in a targeted attack in Karachi on the same day as the meeting because while the authorities have not been able to track criminals and terrorists, the proscribed organisations are launching counterattacks on the security forces, the most notable of which was the attack on an Army Public School in Peshawar in December 2014. Operation Zarb-e-Azb is driving the terrorists out of their safe havens in the mountains to attack soft targets in urban areas. Therefore, the swift and efficient implementation of NAP is particularly crucial as the military operations wind down. Pakistan’s intelligence agencies have proved themselves to be as capable as any in the world. However, they will need to work together and share information with each other, the civilian government and the military establishment to ensure the effectiveness of NAP. Pakistan has faced more than enough bloodshed over the years and it is time to seriously review NAP and provide it sufficient funds to track down and apprehend the criminals who have terrorised and destabilised this country. *