The Pakistani government has decided to bring together military and civilian intelligence agencies under one umbrella to be led by the head of the ISI, in what is seen as a further step towards increasing military control over key institutions in the country.
After years of disputes over jurisdiction, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday approved the creation of the National Intelligence Coordination Committee (NICC), which will bring more than 20 spy agencies under the control of Interservice Intelligence.
Most democratically elected prime ministers have relied more on the civilian-led Intelligence Office, with the exception of the current prime minister.
Civilian governments have tried on more than one occasion to place military intelligence agencies under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister or the Ministry of the Interior. In 2008, the then government of the Pakistan People’s Party even notified the placement of ISI and IB under the “administrative, financial and operational control” of the Ministry of the Interior. But the decision was reversed within 24 hours due to strong reservations from one of the organizations.
Similar efforts were made during the PML-N government, when Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan headed the Interior Ministry.
Local media reported that the move, believed to be the brainchild of Lt. General Faiz Hameed, head of the ISI, is part of the long-awaited reform of the intelligence apparatus, which aims to clarify the role of the respective agencies, improving their coordination and optimization of their capabilities.
Daily Dawn reported that one of the lessons learned by the country during the fight against terrorism was that effective intelligence coordination was the weakest link in the entire effort. Importantly, it resulted in a critical loss of time and, in some cases, agencies were not even able to gather the information available. In addition, it was a great obstacle to the elaboration of collective strategies.
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