Idea of security coordination body backed

KABUL if a new coordination body is brought into being.

The situation recently deteriorated in the country, including in the capital Kabul. President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Sunday said he would reactivate the garrison in the near future.

In early 1992, the garrison was composed of personnel from the Ministries of Defence, Interior and National Directorate of Security (NDS). It sought to forge cooperation among the security institutions.

Afghan security institutions lacked coordination, an issue his administration would try to address soon, the president told Ministry of Defence officials in Kabul.

Wolesi Jirga Defence Commission head Noorul Haq Ulumi told Pajhwok Afghan News that reactivating the body was essential for improving security in the country and cooperation among different organs.

Ulumi said the institution should be headquartered in Kabul, with branches in provinces and districts. What is important is that it should not be an exercise in symbolism, he explained.

The lawmaker argued Afghan-NATO coordination centres had been ineffective because they were symbolic bodies. He linked insecurity over the past 13 years to the absence of coordination.

A former intelligence officer also believed the creation of the proposed body was necessary to boost security in the country.

But Gen. Abdul Wahed Taqat stressed the need for this institution to be manned by experienced, competent and patriotic officers.

“We proposed the establishment of such a mechanism long ago and presented a blue-print to the president Hamid Karzai,” he revealed.

Gen. Taqat insisted Afghanistan urgently needed a garrison for round-the-clock supervision of the security environment and enhancing coordination among relevant institutions.

In the past, he recalled, a similar arrangement had been in place and that produced satisfactory results. He suggested competent security officials should man the organisation.   

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