High-level huddle: PM orders release of Rs100m for NACTA

Civil and military leadership reviews fight against terror.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif directed release of Rs100 million for the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta) as a high-level huddle began in the federal capital on Wednesday to review the fight against violent extremism.

The meeting also discussed issues relating to implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) and financial constraints faced by Nacta. Attendees included army chief General Raheel Sharif, ISI chief Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar, DG Military Operations Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza, DG MI Maj Gen Nadeem Zaki Manj, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, PM’s Adviser Sartaj Aziz, National Security Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua and others.

The prime minister was briefed about Nacta’s performance and progress made in anti-terror fight, mainly from the military-led agencies, including the 3,100 intelligence based operations (IBOs) that helped foil hundreds of terror attacks.

The meeting called for strengthening Nacta on an emergency basis to ensure effective and timely communication and coordination among the intelligence agencies, sources told The Express Tribune. “On paper, Nacta is functional, but the situation on the ground is different,” one official said.

Subsequently, the prime minister directed the finance minister to release the Rs100 million allocated for Nacta, and asked the interior minister to streamline the body’s functioning and operationalise its joint directorate.

Premier Nawaz pointed out that an uptick in terror attacks in Pakistan coincided with Islamabad’s efforts to raise the Kashmir issue on the international stage. “The terrorist incidents happened at a time when Pakistan is raising awareness about Indian atrocities in Kashmir.”

“The enemy has targeted prominent personalities in the country, besides killing minorities,” he said while referring to the assassination of Balochistan Bar Association President Bilal Anwar Kasi in Quetta on Monday which was followed by a deadly suicide blast that claimed at least 74 lives.

“A mindset is involved in such heinous activities that do not tolerate the improved law and order situation in Pakistan, especially in Balochistan,” he added.

He hinted that the attacks were specifically to counter the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) “Such mindset does not assimilate the emerging prospects of progress and prosperity in Pakistan and mega development projects like CPEC.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2016.