Major policy shift: New division to control top anti-terror body

NACTA is all set to be placed under National Security Division umbrella.

ISLAMABAD: Amidst the ongoing unrest in the country, the government is all set to place administrative control of the premier counter-terrorism body under its newly established National Security Division (NSD) in an effort to stem the tide of violence.

Senior officials familiar with the development told The Express Tribune on Sunday that the counter-terrorism Rapid Deployment Force will also function along with the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta) under the NSD. It appears to be a major shift before the new national security policy is presented before parliament, they added.

Under the newly passed National Counter-Terrorism Authority Act 2013, the prime minister is the chairman of the Nacta board which falls under the administrative control of the ministry of interior.

The prime minister’s office will likely issue the notification in this regard, officials said. Nacta National Coordinator Amir Ashraf Khawaja neither confirmed nor denied this development, saying, “I’ll talk to you on a working day [Monday] only.”

The prime minister’s press secretary, Mohiuddin Wani, also promised to confirm the development today (Monday).  A senior official deputed at Nacta, however, claimed that a letter seeking placement of Nacta under the NSD has already been issued by the Prime Minister Secretariat. “We received a notification from the PM office on Friday [February 7],” he claimed.

Various stakeholders recommended that Nacta’s services be placed under the NSD since the government rechristened the cabinet committee on national security after changing its composition and tasked it with the formulation of a new national security policy.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan were also not happy with the performance of Nacta, officials said. The country’s top counter-terrorism authority spent an estimated Rs850 million in counterinsurgency efforts to battle violence and extremism but ended up producing only a brief documentary and a couple of research papers since its establishment five-and-half years ago, they added.

The notification for setting up the NSD under Sartaj Aziz, adviser to the prime minister on national security, has already been issued and Ambassador Sadiq Khan, who is currently serving in Afghanistan, will work as secretary to the NSD, officials said.

When approached, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam Khan said it is yet to be decided where its office will be located — either at the interior ministry or Foreign Office.

The interior minister is said to be in favour of putting Nacta’s administrative control under this division, a senior official of the ministry said. The establishment division also sought the services of various officers for the NSD, he added. The services of section officer Nisar Muhammad, who is currently looking after affairs relating to international treaties in the interior ministry, were also sought for the NSD, he told The Express Tribune.

Security analysts termed it a good move, as the power of Nacta under the interior ministry was not as effective as its autonomy demands, said security analyst Ikram Sehgal.

“The government could take better results from the primary counter-insurgency body by putting it under the National Security Division. It’ll lead it to work under a set mechanism,” he said, hoping that Sartaj Aziz will overcome the existing deficiencies in Nacta.

Former Nacta National Coordinator Khawaja Khalid Farooq said the scarcity of staff was behind its poor performance. If the government really wants some productive results then it will have to induct more professionals, he said. He also backed the move to hand over Nacta’s administration to NSD.

When contacted by The Express Tribune for comments on this development, Sartaj Aziz responded by saying “not under consideration”.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10^th, 2014.