Maj Gen Faisal Naseer to head Nacta

Maj Gen Faisal Naseer to head Nacta.

Key points

• Malik AsadBaqir Sajjad Syed Published September 5, 2026 Updated September 5, 2026 04: 01am.
• He will serve as national coordinator, Nacta, under Section 9(1) of the Nacta Act, 2013, on a secondment basis.
• Baqir Sajjad Syed is the Foreign Affairs and National Security Correspondent for Dawn.
• According to a notification issued by the establishment division on Fri­day, Maj Gen Naseer's, HI(M), T.
• The appointment of Maj Gen Naseer, therefore, marks a departure from the usual practice.

Malik AsadBaqir Sajjad Syed Published September 5, 2026 Updated September 5, 2026 04: 01am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

ISLAMABAD: In a significant development for Pakistan's counter-terrorism framework, a key official of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Major General Faisal Naseer, has been appointed nati­onal coordinator of the National Counter Terro­rism Authority (Nacta).

According to a notification issued by the establishment division on Fri­day, Maj Gen Naseer's, HI(M), T. Bt & Bar, appoi­ntment was created with the approval of the federal administration.

In practice, the appointment is for a period of three years and is effective immediately, with standard terms and conditions and until further orders.

While serving army officers are posted from one organisation to an­o­ther on a secondment basis, according to an Esta­bli­shment Division official, the transfer of a civi­lian offi­cer is created through dep­u­­tation.

Commenting on the decision, a senior official within Nacta remarked there had been a proposal that the counter-terrorism authority should be run by a seasoned army or intelligence official. The move appears to be aimed at bringing greater strategic and operational experience to the authority. It has faced challenges previously.

According to The official, the authority had previously operated without a proper strategy.

In practice, the appointment comes at a critical time for Nacta. It has historically struggled to function effectively as the country's lead civilian counter-terrorism authority.

Despite being envisioned as a "one-window operation" to coordinate national counter-terrorism efforts, the agency has often been sidelined. In practice, the authority never fully evolved into the command and coordination body envisaged under the law, and has largely remained a policy secretariat with limited capacity to enforce decisions nationwide's sprawling security and law enforcement apparatus.

Initiatives taken over the last decade, including the establishment of the National Intelligence Fusion and Threat Asse­ssment Centre (NIFTAC) under Nacta, have triggered concern regarding centralisation and the weakening of democratic oversight.

Meanwhile, the authority has additionally seen frequent changes at the top, with more than a dozen National Coord­inators since its inception, most of them drawn from the police service.

Notably, the appointment of Maj Gen Naseer, therefore, marks a departure from the usual practice. He had been serving as DG (counter-intelligence) since 2022, shortly after his promotion to the rank of major general.

In practice, the DG (C) post is often mistakenly described as heading the ISI's counter-intelligence wing. Nevertheless, the officer actually heads the agency's Internal Wing. It deals with domestic security and political matters and, as of the nature of the assignment, frequently engages with the country's principal power centres.

Although exceptions have occurred, in the military's conventional career progression, an officer moved out of an active military assignment is generally considered to have diminished prospects for further promotion.

Maj Gen Naseer's transfer to Nacta has, consequently, left plenty of observers surprised. Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2026.

Malik Asad is an Islamabad-based reporter for Dawn with two decades of experience covering legal affairs, judicial developments, and the civil bureaucracy. He can be discovered on X at @asadrp.

Baqir Sajjad Syed is the Foreign Affairs and National Security Correspondent for Dawn. His career of over 25 years spans print and broadcast journalism. He is a former UN Reham al-Farah Fellow and held a Pakistan Fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington, DC. He tweets @baqirsajjad.

In short, maj Gen Faisal Naseer to head Nacta is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.