ISLAMABAD: Reservations shown by senior officials of the interior ministry and intelligence agencies over the government’s plan to restructure the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) have jeopardised the revival of this key organisation.

Because of the internal and external opposition to the process for Nacta’s revival, at least three petitions have been filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) over the last couple of months.

In the petitions, officials of the interior ministry have challenged the appointment of a junior officer to a key post in Nacta, the transfer of its command from the prime minister to the interior ministry and merger of the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) into the authority.

The intelligence agencies, the sources said, are also against a complete dissolution of the NCMC and shifting its responsibilities to the authority. They seem to be reluctant to pass on classified information to Nacta — an autonomous body — instead of the NCMC, which is still a subsidiary of the interior ministry.

The NCMC is a domestic intelligence assessment and management institution. Established in 2001, its objectives included building efforts towards counter-intelligence, counter-proliferation, and counter-insurgency as well as assisting the government at all levels of command in managing intelligence.

After the government unveiled its National Internal Security Policy (NISP) earlier this year, the revival of Nacta was also part of its efforts to count terrorism-related threats.

The policy recommends complete overhaul of Nacta, whose board of governors would be led by the prime minister and will include the interior minister, chief ministers, directors general of ISI, MI, IB and FIA, the defence, law and finance ministers, all the chief secretaries and inspectors general of police.

Besides the capacity building of the criminal justice system, police, civil armed forces and other law-enforcing agencies for border management, a key institution to be called the Directorate of Internal Security (DIS) would be established under Nacta to coordinate the intelligence and operational work of all civilian and military agencies to effectively counter terrorism.

Initially, Nacta was formed in 2009 but remained dormant due to lack of resources. Last year, the government introduced the Nacta Act in order to strengthen its efforts for countering terrorism.

Restructuring of Nacta again came in the limelight after the government unveiled the NISP and allegedly made some controversial appointments to head the strategic body.

In the petitions filed against the decisions of the federal government a petitioner, Javed Iqbal, an assistant director in Nacta, challenged the notification of transferring the body from the prime minister’s secretariat to the interior ministry. The petitioner alleged that the transfer of Nacta from the PM to the interior ministry “is a worst example of colourable exercise of powers by the authority and is also against the principle of natural justice, fair play and equity”. According to the petition, under the Nacta Act passed by parliament the authority can only function under the direct supervision of the PM and it cannot be transferred to the interior ministry through an executive order.

Another petition has challenged the appointment of Nacta’s national coordinator. According to the Nacta Act, an officer of “BPS-22 or equivalent might be appointed” as national coordinator of the authority.

The government, however, on Jan 3, 2014 appointed Amir Ashraf Khawaja, a BPS-20 officer, as national coordinator. Mr Khawaja, the petition alleges, further appointed a BPS-18 officer as director general/chief of staff to the national coordinator, which is a BPS-20 post.

A senior official of the interior ministry said that in such circumstances where junior officers have been assigned senior positions and the senior officials working in the NCMC are offered to work under juniors, uncertainty among them is understandable. “In such circumstances one can guess the fate of Nacta and the government’s seriousness in countering terrorism”, he said.

Danial Gillani, a spokesman for the interior ministry, when contacted said that the reconstruction of Nacta is being done in accordance with the plan. He said that the NCMC is being abolished but its officials might be adjusted in Nacta.

Regarding appointment of junior officials to senior positions and transferring the control of the authority from the PM to the interior ministry, he said “since this matter is pending before the court I cannot comment”.