Intelligence agencies need to coordinate
Intelligence Bureau Pakistan has been coordinating with police in KP and Karachi but has been unable to do the same in Balochistan, said Nekokara
The attack on the Police Training Centre in Quetta is the second terrorist attack in the provincial capital within a short period of four months; hence it indicates that the intelligence agencies in Pakistan are lagging behind in keeping up with terrorists.
Intelligence agencies around the world are responsible for collecting information in support of national security to counter anti-state elements.
Quetta remains a vulnerable target of terror attacks despite the presence of security agencies, police, Frontier Constabulary and around 30 or so intelligence agencies trying to curb terrorism.
The latest attack in Quetta is a major blow to the country’s war-on-terror against ‘home-ground’ insurgents.
The National Action Plan (NAP) established by the government of Pakistan after the attack on Army Public School in 2014 mandates intel-sharing among the intelligence agencies.
However, it seems that the agencies are hesitant in initiating an effective coordination with each other.
“The practice of lack of intel-sharing in not just common to Pakistan. It is a general way of agencies operating across the world,” said Raza Rumi, columnist and policy analyst, while talking to DNA.
“The sensitive nature of the information makes agencies hesitant to share details of informants and sources from where they gather information.”
However, the action plan under National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) intended to create a mechanism to initiate communication between these intelligence organisations.
The proposal to initiate a joint intelligence directorate has been developed but cannot be executed until they receive an approval from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said Rumi.
“The prime minister should take more interest in implementing NACTA,” he said.
In addition to the lack of info sharing among intelligence agencies, the failure of security arrangements is also evident after the recent attack in Quetta.
“Civil law enforcement agencies control 10pc of the populated area in Balochistan, the rest is under the control of Balochistan levy forces operated by the feudal system,” said Khawaja Khalid Farooq, former IG Punjab and former head of NACTA, while talking to DNA.
The civil authorities lack the capability to monitor calls for gathering information as they are restricted by the law, said Farooqi. Moreover, there are only around 35,000 police personnel to control a large area of Balochistan.
The presence of other anti-state groups operating under the same capacity makes it difficult to monitor the region, said Farooqi.
Pakistan must develop counter-terrorism strategies with support from police in collaboration with intelligence agencies to tackle the continuous problem of terrorism
Quetta is one of Pakistan’s smaller cities, yet agencies have been unable to tackle the security situation for more than a decade.
“Quetta cannot be protected in isolation from the rest of Balochistan because of the weak policing situation,” said former senior police officer and SSP Islamabad, Muhammad Ali Nekokara, while talking to DNA.
“Policing is almost non-existent in Balochistan. The scope and role of coordination among security establishments is restricted.”
Intelligence Bureau Pakistan has been coordinating with police in KP and Karachi but has been unable to do the same in Balochistan, said Nekokara.
The overall impact of the military operation Zarb-e-Azb has led to a reduction in the number of incidents.
However, considering the fact that more than 800 people were killed in terrorist attacks last year and around 600 have been killed so far this year, it is becoming increasingly difficult to perceive the military operation as successful.
“The military operation can be considered partly successful as it reduced the operations of anti-state units,” said Rumi.
“However, the recent attacks have had an undermining effect on public psychology towards the campaign that suggests the military operation has been successful.”
On the other hand, a regular drill of pointing fingers towards ‘external forces’ for being responsible for the attacks only acts as a tool for hiding the failure of preventing such incidents.
Nonetheless, it becomes easier for intelligence agencies to find the sources behind the attacks as different insurgent groups rush to claim the responsibility.
First, TTP took credit for the attack, then Lashkari e Jhangvi (LeJ) and ISIS declared it a joint operation, thus indicating that intelligence agencies need to have the proper information to unveil the main sources behind these incidents.
“It is important to have a direction and improve the level of preparedness,” admitted Nekokara.
“The security forces did get a clear direction after the APS attack but there needs to be capacity for preparedness.”
Pakistan must develop counter-terrorism strategies with support from police in collaboration with intelligence agencies to tackle the continuous problem of terrorism.
Neutralising terrorists after the attack has taken place is not a viable response considering the loss of lives that continue to accumulate after every incident despite countering efforts.
Moreover, the war-on-terror is also a fight against an ideology that will only end by eradicating the main source.
For this purpose, the intelligence agencies need to keep an eye out for any operations by insurgent groups to thwart their plan before it takes place.