ISLAMABAD: Confusion reigned over the exact status of Pakistan’s controversial intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), a day after the government announced it had placed the ISI under the control of the Interior Ministry.
A notification on Saturday said the ISI and Intelligence Bureau had been placed “under the administrative, financial and operational control” of the Interior Ministry “with immediate effect.”
In a statement on Sunday, the government said its notification regarding the ISI was “misinterpreted.” It said the agency, which is Pakistan’s largest and most powerful spy organisation both for external and internal intelligence, would continue to report to the Prime Minister.
According to the statement, Saturday’s notification “only re-emphasises more coordination between Ministry of Interior and ISI in relation to war on terror and internal security.” It said the details would be made clear in a “comprehensive notification.”
The ISI is supposed to be under the Prime Minister’s control but with a mainly military set-up, is known to function as an arm of the Pakistan military. A serving Lieutenant-General heads the organisation, and a lot of its manpower is drawn from the military.
In periods of military rule, the chain of command for the ISI has been straightforward. There is no Prime Minister or else he is redundant and the ISI reports to the military ruler. This was the case until President Pervez Musharraf was the ruler, with all intelligence agencies directly under his command.
‘State within a state’But civilian governments have struggled to rule over the ISI, which is described even within Pakistan as “a state within a state.” In the present case, the ISI chief, Lt. Gen Nadeem Taj, is a Musharraf-appointee and is related to him. Saturday’s decision was seen as a move by a popularly elected government to take charge of the intelligence agencies.
PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said placing the ISI under the control of the Interior Ministry was a “step towards civilian rule” and would help save the Army from controversies and a bad name.
Mr. Zardari told The News from Dubai, where he is presently camping, that “a strong Army with non-political command was the need of the time” and expressed the hope “that positive results will come out from this historic decision.”
He said that in future, the enemies of Pakistan would not be able to defame the ISI. “Nobody will say that this agency is not under the control of an elected government as the Interior Ministry will be responsible for responding to the allegations against the ISI,” he said.
The News also said unnamed top officials of the Interior Ministry said the decision to place the ISI and the IB under the Interior Division was taken with the consent of the Army chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The government’s “clarification” followed criticism from several quarters. Many saw it as a as a move to empower Rehman Malik, a Zardari confidante who functions as the Interior Minister. Those opposing the decision said it was not a step in the direction of democratic rule, but the very opposite, as it took away powers from an elected Prime Minister and empowered an unelected official. Mr. Malik is not an MP. Saturday’s notification, if implemented, virtually makes Mr. Malik the most powerful man in the country, with two intelligence agencies reporting directly to him.
Others took exception to placing the ISI under the Interior Minister, saying this would jeopardise national security. They argued the ISI functions at the strategic level relating to external counter-intelligence, while the Interior Ministry deals with policy matters relating to internal law and order only. “It’s an absolutely wrong decision from every prospective,”Reuters quoted Mushahid Hussain Sayed, secretary-general of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League, as saying. “Instead of taking ISI out of politics, the government has injected partisan politics in ISI,” he said, adding: “It will be detrimental to national security.”
But Pakistani media quoted “experts” saying the ISI’s functioning style would not be affected even under the Interior Ministry. The Dawn quoted a senior official saying the ISI was used to working “autonomously” even when it was under the Prime Minister, and it would continue in the same way under the Interior Ministry.
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