Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday chaired the first-ever meeting of the Board of Governors of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) at the Prime Minister Office.

Nacta's national coordinator briefed the meeting about the mandate and the role that the organisation has been tasked with since its inception.

The meeting also reviewed the progress of the implementation of the 20-point National Action Plan.

Prime Minister Khan stated during the meeting that Pakistan has come a long way in its fight against the menace of terrorism and countering violent extremism.

"In this struggle, we have sacrificed thousands of our civilians and security personnel," PM Khan said while lauding the services and contributions of the armed forces, intelligence agencies, police and other law enforcement and security agencies.

The prime minister observed that the improved security situation in the country is the result of combined efforts of all stakeholders.

Deploring the fact that not a single meeting of the Nacta board of governors was convened since its inception, PM Khan pointed out that the past government's neglect has resulted in a lack of improvement in the functioning of an important national organisation.

The prime minister said that that current ground realities call for revisiting the role of Nacta in order to make this body a truly proactive organisation with a well-defined mandate.

The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Minister for Finance Asad Umar, Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Naseem, Minister of State for Interior Shahryar Afridi, Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider, the chief ministers of all four provinces and Gilgit Baltistan, and other relevant officials.

The participants constituted a committee to review the role and function of Nacta and then submit its recommendations to the prime minister within a week.