THE country’s top civil and military leadership on Sunday visited the headquarters of the country’s prime spy agency- the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for a huddle that came against the backdrop of a host of regional developments that may have implications for the country. Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa were given a detailed briefing regarding regional and national security situation. The Prime Minister commended the tireless efforts of the ISI for the national security and expressed his satisfaction over its professional preparedness.
Undoubtedly, the ISI, over the years, has played a leading role to confront the internal and external threats faced by the country and protect its strategic interests. Especially its contribution in the war against terrorism will always be remembered and written in golden words. It has done more than any other organization in the war against this menace. It is because of sheer professionalism of its officers, both military and civilians, that the country has been able to foil the sordid designs of enemies especially that of the Indian intelligence agency RAW which remains active to stoke instability in Pakistan through different tactics. The latest visit of the PM and the Army Chief to the ISI headquarters has come at a time when approval has been given by the government for the setting up of a National Intelligence Coordination Committee (NICC) which would serve as a mechanism to coordinate the over two dozen intelligence organisations in the country. National Counter Terrorism Authority would also be part of the new structure. The move is part of the long-awaited reform of the intelligence apparatus, which aims at clarifying the role of respective agencies, improving their coordination and optimising their capabilities. In the past also there have been multiple attempts at developing this coordination, but little progress could be made because of differences over the leadership of the new body, which has now been settled. As the approval has also been given, there should not be any further delay in setting up the NICC as it will go a long way in synergizing the work of main spy agencies and effectively counter the threats including pre-empting the terrorist attacks.
