ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah Khan said on Monday that it is very encouraging that the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) has become a fully functional organization, showing the government’s commitment towards countering terrorism.
Chairing the fourth board of governors’ meeting of the Authority, the minister said that NACTA has been re-vamped and recognized and now, it is playing its statutory coordination role more effectively.
He said that the NACTA is not an operational organization according to the NACTA Act 2013. It makes policies and strategies which are implemented by the provincial CTDs and other relevant stakeholders.
Interior Minister Stresses Need for Comprehensive Policies
Rana Sanaullah emphasized to NACTA officers and leadership that there is an urgent need to formulate comprehensive counter-terrorism policies and practical strategies as today, the nation is again facing a surge in terrorist activities.
He said that The NACTA must play a key role in formulating data-driven policies and strategies to support Law Enforcement Agencies in defeating terrorism.
The Minister showed his confidence in NACTA to formulate a holistic response as a lead organization to make policies, strategies, and action plans. The honorable minister assured his full support to the NACTA. He concluded by saying, “I am confident that our efforts shall bring a lasting peace in our motherland, which will lead to economic prosperity and happiness”.
In the meeting, the National Coordinator NACTA, IGP Muhammad Tahir Rai, said that Rana Sanaullah is the only Chairman of the Board who has consecutively chaired two BoG meetings of NACTA and ensured the statutory requirement of holding it once a year. It shows the interest of the Government in running the affairs of the NACTA.
Tahir Rai informed the Board that revamping the NACTA has been undertaken in the light of the decision of the Board in its last meeting and that professional staff, including analysts, data scientists, technical officers, linguists, etc., have been recruited.
He further said that specialist consultants have been hired in fields of Intelligence Analytics, Counter Terrorism Capacity Building, and Communication Strategy Implementation to achieve optimum performance levels.
During the meeting, the board was apprised that NACTA has remained very active during this year and that it has formulated Pakistan’s “National Narrative” against terrorism and extremism. The Narrative is based on the “Paigham-i-Pakistan” fatwa (decree), which is a consensus document signed by thousands of Pakistani religious scholars from all sects.
The National Coordinator NACTA said that, “the National Narrative provides a vision of the society Pakistan aims to create. The Pakistani way of life, based on indigenous Pakistani values of tolerance, charity, and happiness, has been promoted in it”. The National Narrative is available in written form on the NACTA’s website in Urdu and English languages.
Federal Minister for Power and Energy, Khurram Dastagir, Senator Hidayat Ullah, Senator Rana Maqbool Ahmad, along with Federal Secretaries of Interior, Defense, Law, and Justice and Finance Division, besides DGs Intelligence Bureau, Federal Investigation Agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (CT), DG Military Intelligence and IGPs and Home Secretaries of all provinces also attended the meeting as Members of NACTA Board of Governors.
