ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government withdrew a controversial notification on Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) late Sunday, reversing a day’s earlier move of placing the intelligence body under the purview of the Interior Ministry.
The notification read: “In order to have better cooperation the Intelligence Bureau and Inter-Services Intelligence have been placed under the Ministry of Interior.”
The placement of IB under the ministry was not surprising as it is headed by a police officer and is a civilian intelligence gathering body, but the move to bring the ISI under the ministry’s control raised many eyebrows.
The ISI is charged with keeping the government abreast of all types of threats — internal or external. Lt. Gen. Nadeem Taj heads the service with several major generals leading its different wings.
Under its charter the ISI is accountable to the chief executive through the Ministry of Defense. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani is the chief executive but President Pervez Musharraf, by virtue of his constitutional powers and being the commander-in-chief, can order any operation to be carried out by this outfit. The ISI also has a political wing, which it inherited from former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. When the move of ISI was announced, former spymaster Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul, speaking on ARY One, said, “So, an attempt is being made to clip ISI’s wings.”
Then late Sunday a Press Information Department (PID) statement said that the notification regarding ISI was misunderstood and that the ISI would still remain under the purview of the prime minister.
The PID statement also stressed that the notification was issued to expand cooperation between the Interior Ministry and the ISI on matters like war against terror and internal security. A detailed notification will be announced soon.
This followed the earlier PID release, which announced that the ISI and the IB were being placed under the Interior Division, adding that the premier had placed the two intelligence agencies under the administrative, financial and operational control of the Interior Division under Rule 3 of the 1973 Constitution. The Cabinet Division issued a memorandum under rules of business in this regard.
