Key Takeaways
- Maj Gen Faisal Naseer, head of ISI’s Internal Wing, transferred to Nacta.
- His appointment as National Coordinator of Nacta is seen as significant.
- Nacta has struggled to become a central coordinating body for counter-terrorism.
The government has made a surprise move by transferring Major General Faisal Naseer, who heads the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Internal Wing, to the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta).
The DG (C) post, often mistakenly described as leading ISI’s counter-intelligence wing, actually oversees the agency’s Internal Wing, which focuses on domestic security and political matters, engaging frequently with the country’s principal power centres.
Within the ISI, the DG (C) position is considered the second most important after the director general, and Maj Gen Naseer’s transfer is seen as significant, especially as it comes ahead of upcoming army promotions.
An officer from the Corps of Military Intelligence, Maj Gen Naseer served as DG (C) from 2022, shortly after his promotion to major general, and remained in the position through a politically turbulent period.
The transfer to Nacta has left many observers surprised, as in the military’s conventional career progression, an officer moved out of an active military assignment is generally considered to have diminished prospects for further promotion.
Nacta, established in 2009 and given statutory backing in 2013, was intended to be the central civilian body for coordinating counter-terrorism and counter-extremism policies among federal and provincial agencies.
However, in practice, Nacta has largely remained a policy secretariat with limited capacity to enforce decisions across the country’s security and law enforcement apparatus.
The frequent changes at the top of Nacta, with more than a dozen National Coordinators since its inception, most from the police service, have further complicated its role.
Maj Gen Naseer’s appointment as National Coordinator of Nacta marks a departure from the usual practice and could potentially signal an attempt to give greater weight to an institution that has struggled to establish itself as the central coordinating mechanism for the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
