ISLAMABAD: The decision to put Pakistan’s main spy agency under civilian control was aimed at keeping the army out of the diplomatic line of fire, the head of the ruling party said in remarks published yesterday.
A notification issued by the government on Saturday said, “in order to have better cooperation the Intelligence Bureau and Inter-Services Intelligence have been placed under the Ministry of Interior.”
The ISI is charged with keeping the government well informed about threats of various dimensions — internal or external. It is being headed by Gen.Nadeem Taj with several major generals in charge of its different wings. Its financial and administrative control lies with the Defense Ministry.
The ISI played a pivotal role in the proxy war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and as such was well liked by Pakistan’s main allies.
In the 1990s the ISI nabbed several top ranking Al-Qaeda operatives including Ramzi Yousef. The post-9/11 developments found its role further enhanced.
Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto’s widower and leader of her Pakistan People’s Party, hoped the “historical” decision would yield positive results for the country as well as the army. “In future, enemies of Pakistan will not be able to defame the ISI; nobody will say that this agency is not under the control of an elected government,” the daily News quoted him as saying in a telephone interview from Dubai. “The Interior Ministry will be responsible for responding to allegations against the ISI.”
In a statement issued yesterday, the government said its decision regarding control of the ISI was being “misinterpreted”.
“ISI will continue to perform its functions under the prime minister,” a government spokesman said. He said the government’s decision “only re-emphasizes more coordination between the Ministry of Interior and ISI in relation to war on terror and internal security”.
Zardari’s opponents dubbed the decision an attempt to politicize the ISI and hoped it would be reversed soon. “It’s an absolutely wrong decision from every prospective,” said Mushahid Hussain Sayed, secretary-general of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League.
