Pakistan government empowers itself to collect intelligence data

The Pakistan government has empowered itself to oversee and manage collection of terrorism-specific intelligence from civil and military agencies.

This came about after Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced the immediate establishment of a National Intelligence Directorate (NID) under the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) earlier this week.

He ordered the establishment of an NID along with a Rapid Response Force at federal and provincial levels to pool national and provincial intelligence resources at a meeting held in Islamabad March 18, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.

The meeting was attended by the chief ministers of the country's four provinces, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Rahil Sharif, Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt. Gen. Zahirul Islam, Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Ashfaq Ahmad Nadeem and Director General Miltary Operations (DGMO) Maj. Gen. Amir Riaz along with chief secretaries and inspector generals of police of the provinces and senior government officials.

Prime Minister Sharif said that high security prisons should also be constructed in all the provinces.

The DGMO, deputy director general of the ISI and the interior minister briefed the meeting on different aspects of internal security issues.