Experts divided over effectiveness of Pakistan’s new intelligence coordination committee

Prime Minister Imran Khan chairing the inaugural meeting of the National Intelligence Coordination Committee in Islamabad on May 23, 2021. (Photo courtesy: @PakPMO/Twitter)

• Despite being notified earlier this year, there is little information on the composition, working and mandate of the body
• Some analysts say it will be yet another "institutional layer" in the absence of a robust accountability mechanism

ISLAMABAD: The National Intelligence Coordination Committee (NICC) will help collate key information to counter the threat of religious militancy and terrorism, security experts said on Thursday, though some analysts also dismissed the new body as yet another institutional layer in the absence of an effective accountability mechanism.
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday presided over the inaugural session of the body at the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) headquarters in Islamabad.
“A comprehensive briefing followed by discussion on enhanced intelligence cooperation was held. [The] Prime Minister appreciated the ongoing efforts and expressed satisfaction over the performance of National Intelligence Coordination Committee,” the PM Office said in a statement after the meeting.
The event was also attended by Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, the heads of the services’ intelligence agencies, Intelligence Bureau and Federal Investigation Agency, according to the statement.
The government notified the platform on January 22, though little information has been disclosed to the public about its composition, working, funding and mandate.
The information ministry and the military did not reply to calls seeks comment for this piece.
Lieutenant General (r) Amjad Shoaib, a defense analyst, said the idea had been in the pipeline for the last many years, but failed to materialize due to differences within the spy agencies regarding its composition and leadership.
“The platform will help intelligence agencies pool information to develop a complete picture before forwarding it to the government and other relevant departments,” he told Arab News on Thursday.
Shoaib said various intelligence agencies were working separately in the past and were shy of sharing information with other agencies. “This gap in their working relationship led to intelligence breaches in some cases,” he said.
“The platform will help fight terrorism effectively, besides boosting the country’s overall defense and security,” he added.
Political analyst and columnist Mosharraf Zaidi called the committee a "good start" but said there was a long way to go to improve coordination.
“Coordinating functions for intelligence collection and analysis is a longstanding need in Pakistani national security equation,” he told Arab News. “But as long as intelligence is dominated by the military, the full potential of Pakistan’s national power capabilities will continue to be constrained by the legacy of civil-military divide in the country.”
Around two dozen intelligence agencies are working in Pakistan with their respective mandates, and civil-military intelligence coordination has mostly remained a hurdle in their operations.
Author and defence expert Ayesha Siddiqa said full details of the intelligence coordination body should be shared with the public for transparency in its operations since it would otherwise be “just another institutional layer” without any effectiveness.
“Civilians have not been a key stakeholder in Pakistan’s intelligence service as it has always been dominated by the military,” she told Arab News. “Only time will tell therefore regarding the new body’s efficacy.”
Siddiqa noted that only infrastructure was not required to enhance intelligence cooperation in Pakistan, and
the accountability of any institutional setup was also key.
“We have witnessed a number of incidents that resulted from intelligence breach,” she said, asking: “Have we ever had accountability of ... spy agencies?”