Islamabad- The interior ministry has decided to expand the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) to provinces, AJK and G-B to effectively fight the menace of terrorism.
Sources in the interior ministry said that the interior minister is holding consultations with NACTA authorities to expand the scope of the counter-terrorism department to all the four provinces including Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B). The sources said that a final decision to this effect will be made after the approval of the prime minister.
The sources said that the provincial chief ministers and the prime minister of AJK will be heads of regional NACTAs. According to the sources, the aim of expanding the scope of NACTA to the provinces is to accelerate the fight against terrorism and to enable province to take practical measures against terrorism.
The sources said that consultations between the interior minister and the NACTA authorities have almost finalized and final approval, in this regard, will be taken from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
After the approval from the Prime Minster, NACTA’s regional offices will be set up in provinces including AJK and G-B. The provincial chief ministers and AJK PM will head the regional NACTAs while the provincial home minister, law minister, chief secretary, provincial interior secretary, Inspector General (IG) police and provincial heads of intelligence agencies and others will be included in regional NACTAs. The sources further said that the NACTA’s Intelligence Wing will also be reactivated.