Maj Gen Faisal Naseer's appointment puts Nacta back in focus

• Maj Gen Naseer appointed Nacta national coordinator for 3 years.
• Faisal Naseer takes charge of Nacta amid renewed security concerns
• Nacta’s last executive committee meeting held in April 2024.
  

ISLAMABAD: The appointment of Major General Faisal Naseer as National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) for three years has once again put the spotlight on an institution created over a decade ago with an ambitious mandate to coordinate Pakistan’s fight against terrorism and extremism.

The Establishment Division notification issued on Friday said Faisal Naseer had been appointed National Coordinator on secondment under Section 9(1) of the Nacta Act, 2013, for three years with immediate effect.

His appointment comes at a time when Nacta continues to have a wide statutory mandate but remains largely dependent on officers posted to it from other government institutions.

Nacta was established in 2008 as an administrative unit of the Ministry of Interior and was later given administrative and financial autonomy under the Nacta Act, 2013. The law created it as a body corporate answerable to a Board of Governors and tasked it with coordinating national counter-terrorism and counter-extremism efforts.

Under the law, Nacta is required to collect and collate intelligence and information, prepare national counter-terrorism and counter-extremism strategies, develop action plans, monitor their implementation, conduct research, review relevant laws and maintain liaison with international organisations.

The authority was also given a central role after the December 2014 Army Public School attack. It was involved in preparing the 20-point National Action Plan and was subsequently tasked with monitoring its implementation.

Despite the importance of these responsibilities, Nacta has struggled over the years to develop the institutional standing of a powerful national security organisation. A major issue has been its reliance on deputed officers from other government departments and services.

Nacta continues to advertise positions on deputation from federal and provincial governments, including posts dealing with administration, coordination and implementation of decisions of its Board of Governors and Executive Committee.

The government had previously attempted to make service at Nacta more attractive. Following the National Action Plan, the authority was strengthened and its employees were provided additional incentives, including a risk allowance.

Questions have also been raised over the frequency of meetings of Nacta’s senior decision-making forums.

According to Nacta’s official record, its seventh Executive Committee meeting was held on April 24, 2024. The meeting discussed the country’s terrorism and security situation, Nacta’s achievements and areas requiring intervention.

There is no eighth Executive Committee meeting listed on Nacta’s publicly available website up to September 4, 2026.

The Board of Governors, however, met in April 2025 under Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who chairs the board under the amended legal framework. The meeting approved the establishment of the National Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Centre (NIFTAC) under Nacta.

The government described NIFTAC as an important step towards achieving Nacta’s original objectives and improving implementation of the National Action Plan. The centre is intended to strengthen intelligence fusion and national-level threat assessment.

Nacta is also undertaking activities under the National Prevention of Violent Extremism Policy 2024, while continuing work involving counter-terrorism, counter-financing of terrorism, research, policy development and engagement with civil society and educational institutions. Its official website currently describes its mission as leading, coordinating and synchronising the efforts of stakeholders in countering terrorism and extremism.

The appointment of Faisal Naseer, who has extensive experience in intelligence and security matters, has therefore given fresh attention to the authority’s original purpose.

The key question now is whether his appointment will be accompanied by a broader effort to strengthen Nacta’s institutional authority, improve coordination with intelligence and law-enforcement agencies and make it a more consequential national security institution.

For an authority created specifically to lead and coordinate Pakistan’s counter-terrorism efforts, its effectiveness ultimately depends on whether other institutions treat its assessments and coordination mechanisms as central to national security decision-making.

Faisal Naseer’s three-year appointment could provide Nacta with an opportunity to strengthen that role, said a government source, adding that the extent to which that opportunity is utilised will depend on the authority, resources and institutional backing given to the new National Coordinator.

Once Nacta board was really powerful. It was led by the prime minister and include members like all chief ministers, all spymasters and others. However, later it was placed under the interior minister.

Originally published in The News