National Commission for Counter-Terrorism

[Neo]

National Commission for Counter-Terrorism​

Whether or not the report of a TV channel is authentic, the news that the PPP government is thinking of setting up a National Commission for Counter-Terrorism (NCCT) should arouse a lot of curiosity, if not relief. The Commission will “coordinate efforts in countering the threat posed by the Taliban” and serve as an “umbrella” organisation. The reference to the Taliban is reinforced by the observation that Intelligence Bureau (IB), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) are all doing the same job of counter-terrorism without enough coordination. The Commission — presumably requiring an act of parliament — will be a “constitutional body”.

There is no doubt that coordination is needed among our intelligence agencies. And this is not a problem peculiar to Pakistan. The most advanced nations have felt the need to create an “umbrella” structure to oversee and coordinate the work of their spooks after suffering serious damage from agents hugging their secrets in jealous “turf wars”. The most recent example is India where important intelligence was ignored because no one at the top of the intelligence pyramid was able to analyse the available information and then have the authority to demand counter-action. Pakistan is no exception to the incidence of this fault in its intelligence system.

It is mentioned in the news that the proposed NCCT will analyse as well as strategise at the top of the pyramid. Because the Commission will come under the tutelage of the prime minister — just like the ISI — the strategy thus arrived at will be followed by the other agencies working under it. Since only the Taliban are mentioned as the jurisdiction of the Commission, one wonders if that would not distract from the usefulness of the exercise. Counter-terrorism should relate to sources of danger other than the Taliban. Will the strategy-making function of the Commission therefore exclude all dangers emanating from sources other than the Taliban?

The report that the head of the NCCT will be a retired chief of the FIA puts yet another gloss on the motivation behind the idea of the new apex coordination body. The FIA is the bailiwick of police officers who also normally dominate the IB. Unlike the ISI, the FIA and the IB work under the Interior Ministry. Is this therefore a mechanism to indirectly bring all intelligence function under the tutelage of the Interior Ministry which is treated as one of the administrative structures ruled by the prime minister and his cabinet? The last time Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani tried to subject the ISI, legally functioning under him directly, to the authority of the Interior Ministry, he was unsuccessful.

While it is true that the ISI has formally disbanded its “political wing” in deference to the wishes of the prime minister, many commentators have doubted if this has actually happened. This brings us to the oft-repeated view that the ISI, by reason of its dominance by army officers, doesn’t always defer to the prime minister. The last time the prime minister thought he could send the ISI chief to India after the Mumbai attack, he encountered resistance. This will definitely not happen if he orders the chief of his new NCCT to fly to New Delhi in short order to create an environment of confidence and to deescalate tensions.

Even if the idea of NCCT is mere loud-thinking to test the waters, so to speak, one can’t help meditating on the state of our counter-intelligence. Retired intelligence officers are unfortunately not barred from boasting about their derring-do in service. Coming from them, spy work is some kind of fairyland adventure where Pakistani officials usually engage agents of Mossad in cloak-and-dagger games in which our men usually win. But the truth is that, like other countries, intelligence has failed us in crucial moments. The flaw is blatant when it comes to the activity of the Taliban and Al Qaeda whose suicide-bombers can be seen to have “departed in the direction of Islamabad” without us being ready for them in Islamabad. Perhaps the biggest failure was the development of Lal Masjid in Islamabad into a den of fortified terrorists without our spooks getting an idea of what was going on.

Pakistan’s intelligence needs to pull up its socks. In recent times, overly “patriotic” analysts with the security of Pakistan close to their heart have complained about the inadequacy of our secret services. If it is the enemy abroad whose actions have to be kept an eye on, what about those enemies who have entered our territory and have made our populations hostage? Intelligence work is not merely gathering raw information, it is sitting down and authenticating it and then making an analysis of it. Sadly, judging from TV statements of senior retired intelligence officers, it is analysis which is lacking. And if analysis is the weak point, then the formulation of strategy by them is even more of a danger to the security of the state.

 

[Pashtun]

Another time waster. There's no terrorism from within Pakistan. All this taleban/militant talk is just to strangle people in a hoax, while the incompetent bas***ds enjoy the power and prestige in the office on the expense of civilians suffering, while dancing on the tunes of their masters abroad.

This is just to find another way to harrase freedom of the people. Pull more strings. Tighten the communism style grip on masses by keeping them in severe fear. Just like they announced that heinous Information Technology act, by killing the freedom of speech against government.

What really our govt. needs to do is to out reach the civil society and solve their problems. As long as they are playing deception games with the civil society with these things, no peace, no prosperity and no tranquility can be achieved.

This is just an another drama of engaging citizens in deceptive tactics.

 

[Nafees]

Source: Pak to set up terror watchdog-Pakistan-World-The Times of India


ISLAMABAD: Faced with worldwide demands to take action against militant groups operating from its territory, Pakistan has decided to establish a
National Counter-terrorism Authority (NCA).

Tariq Pervez, who has just retired as the director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), could head the new body, the News daily reported on Friday.

“Pervez has been assigned the job of preparing the concept, structure and mandate of the NCA so that it could serve the purpose for which it was being established,” the newspaper said, quoting an official. “The primary objective of the NCA would be maximum coordination among different tools and agencies of the government engaged in counter-terrorism.”

The NCA is the brainchild of interior ministry adviser Rehman Malik. Hitherto, counter-terrorism tasks have been undertaken by the intelligence agencies, primarily the Inter-Services Intelligence.

“Their workload increased manifold after Pakistan’s participation in the anti-terror war in the wake of the 9/11 attacks,” the News noted.

At the same time, “lack of coordination among different official organs working in the field of counter-terrorism had affected the efforts in this direction”, the newspaper said.

“Most civilian governments have been critical of the absence of due coordination among the intelligence agencies and other state organisations, and have been calling for an effective counter-terrorism mechanism,” it newspaper added.

 

[ahmeddsid]

Saturday, January 03, 2009
Come clean on LeT confession on 26/11: Dawn

Islamabad: Noting that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative Zarar Shah's confession of involvement in the Mumbai attacks "have not been denied at the highest levels in Islamabad", a leading Pakistani daily said the government should come clean on the matter or it will "continue to be deemed guilty until proven innocent".

In a strongly worded editorial, headlined "Taking stock", the influential Dawn newspaper said Saturday unless Islamabad comes clean on the reported confession of Shah and the outcome of its probe into 26/11, Pakistan "will not be in a position to counter criticism that facts are being withheld and we will continue to be deemed guilty (of involvement in the Mumbai mayhem) until proven innocent".

At the same time, it said it was "heartening to note that the clouds of war (in the wake of the Mumbai attacks) have lifted to a degree and both sides are refraining from upping the ante".

"There is an urgent need for Pakistan to decide on the path the country must choose from this point onwards," the editorial said.

"Foot-dragging will get us nowhere, and we need to explain what headway, if any, has been made in our own investigations," it added.

At the same time, it admitted that full disclosure could not be expected in a matter as sensitive as this until every avenue of inquiry has been explored.

"A progress report, though, is the need of the hour.

The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times have separately reported that Shah, the LeT's communications chief, had admitted the group was involved in the Mumbai carnage - as India has been saying ever since the Nov 26-29 attacks.

Pakistani security forces arrested Shah and LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi during a crackdown last month on the Jamaat-ud Dawa, a charity front for the LeT.

Lakhvi is one of the three men whose extradition India has demanded for their involvement in the Mumbai attacks. Underworld boss Dawood Ibrahim and Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar are the other two.

Holding that any confessions made "should be acknowledged", the editorial added: "There will be no loss of face if it turns out that Pakistanis were among the militants who attacked Mumbai.

"Egged on by India, much of the world believes that anyway. We need to act decisively against militants and terrorists operating from Pakistani soil, not on account of pressure exerted by India or America but because therein lies our own salvation. The enemy within is a far greater threat than any external foe," the editorial maintained.

On Thursday, Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that an FBI team that visited Pakistan earlier this week had shared with the authorities "strong evidence" of the LeT's involvement in the Mumbai attacks.

Source: Indo-Asian News Service