THE National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta) has been reformed and the National Intelligence Directorate set up. Intelligence agencies in the country, 26 in total according to the last count by the interior ministry, will now be working under the directorate’s umbrella to fight terrorism. That should, hopefully, remove some of the confusion that would but be a natural consequence of so many agencies working simultaneously. Ideally, it should lead to reformation based on fresh delineation of work. The government, at least on paper, will oversee the collection of terrorism-specific information from the civilian as well as military agencies. The emphasis is on whether the change will give the government the powers governments in Pakistan have been after for long. It will also have to be watched whether it is a gathering of big names with some substance or a collection signifying little.

Some of these agencies have been working by themselves for so long and have acquired a reputation for shunning all kinds of ‘outside interference’ from state organisations. That they are willing to sit together after years of persuasion is described as a ‘momentous’ development. An occasion where they are actually seen to be aiding each other in fighting terrorism would in the same vein inspire the loudest celebrations before it can inspire hope of some kind of security in the people.

Clearly, it is a compromise. In the old Pakistani context, it would appear the agencies have allowed some semblance of authority to the government. The impression is strengthened by the fact that there is still plenty of room for the agencies to work on their own, unhindered by the directorate’s presence. The intelligence sharing in the directorate is to be specific to counterterrorism. Of course, there could always be difference of opinion on what can be construed as terrorism and lines will be blurred and not too difficult to cross. From among these known and unknown 26 agencies, the Inter-Services Intelligence has been visibly the most reluctant to lend itself to civilian control. The Pakistan Peoples Party’s last government tried to bring the ISI under the interior ministry, in vain and some say shoddily. An official has now been quoted as saying that “a wing of the military-run agency dealing with issues relating to counterterrorism would report to the new directorate.” And that “the ISI has a vast area of operation and works as the first line of defence against internal and external security threats. ...” This would make it seem as if the Pakistan Muslim League-N has only partially succeeded where the PPP had failed completely. The civilian-military balance will continue to be one of the most significant issues of discussion, but the success of the National Intelligence Directorate will be measured on the basis of some real and quick advances against terror.