Wais replaces Zakariyya as chief of Counter Terrorism Center

Brigadier General (Retired) Zakariyya Mansoor has been dismissed as the Director General of the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) – and replaced by Major General (Retired) Wais Waheed.

Zakariyya had joined the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) on March 13, 1984. He received an honorable discharge after 37 years of service on December 9, 2021.

He was appointed as the Director General of NCTC on April 21, 2016.

However, he was dismissed from the post on November 17 – when the new Maldivian administration took office.

His successor, Wais had joined the MNDF on June 19, 1989. He received an honorable discharge after 34 years of service on December 12.

At the time of his retirement – he was serving as the Commanding Officer of MNDF’s Marine Corps and College of Defense and Security Studies.

NCTC is a separate institution under the direct supervision of the Defense Ministry.

It was established through presidential decree on February 25, 2016, following the passage of the Counter-Terrorism Act in 2015.

NCTC was originally established in 2012, as the Office for Counter Terrorism (OCT). In 2014, OCT was replaced with the Department of Counter Terrorism (DCT).