The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI] was
founded in 1948 by a British army officer, Maj Gen R
Cawthome, then Deputy Chief of Staff in the Pakistan Army.
Field Marshal Ayub Khan, the president of Pakistan in the
1950s, expanded the role of ISI in safeguarding Pakistan's
interests, monitoring opposition politicians, and sustaining
military rule in Pakistan.
The ISI is tasked with collection of of foreign and domestic
intelligence; co-ordination of intelligence functions of the
three military services; surveillance over its cadre,
foreigners, the media, politically active segments of Pakistani
society, diplomats of other countries accredited to Pakistan
and Pakistani diplomats serving outside the country; the
interception and monitoring of communications; and the
conduct of covert offensive operations.
The ISI has become a state within a state, answerable
neither to the leadership of the army, nor to the President or
the Prime Minister. The result is there has been no real
supervision of the ISI, and corruption, narcotics, and big
money have all come into play, further complicating the
political scenario. Drug money was used by ISI to finance not
only the Afghanistan war, but also the proxy war against
India in Punjab and Kashmir.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee deals with all problems
bearing on the military aspects of state security and is
charged with integrating and coordinating the three services.
Affiliated with the committee are the offices of the engineer
in chief, the director general of medical service, the Director
of Inter-Services Public Relations, and the Director of Inter-
Services Intelligence.
Staffed by hundreds of civilian and military officers, and
thousands of other workers, the agency's headquarters is
located in Islamabad. The ISI reportedly has a total of about
10,000 officers and staff members, a number which does not
include informants and assets. It is reportedly organized into
between six and eight divisions:
· Joint Intelligence X (JIX) serves as the secretariat
which co-ordinates and provides administrative support
to the other ISI wings and field organisations. It also
prepares intelligence estimates and threat
assessments.
· The Joint Intelligence Bureau (JIB), responsible for
political intelligence, was the most powerful component
of the organisation during the late 1980s. The JIB
consists of three subsections, with one subsection
devoted to operations against India.
· The Joint Counter Intelligence Bureau (JCIB) is
responsible for field surveillance of Pakistani diplomats
stationed abroad, as well as for conducting intelligence
operations in the Middle East, South Asia, China,
Afghanistan and the Muslim republics of the former
Soviet Union.
· Joint Intelligence / North (JIN) is responsible for
Jammu and Kashmir operations, including infiltration,
exfilteration, propaganda and other clandestine
operations.
· Joint Intelligence Miscellaneous (JIM) conducts
espionage in foreign countries, including offensive
intelligence operations.
· The Joint Signal Intelligence Bureau (JSIB), which
includes Deputy Directors for Wireless, Monitoring and
Photos, operates a chain of signals intelligence
collection stations along the border with India, and
provide communication support to militants operating
in Kashmir.
· Joint Intelligence Technical
In addition to these main elements, ISI also includes a
separate explosives section and a chemical warfare section.
Published reports provide contradictory indications as to the
relative size of these organizational elements, suggesting
that either JIX is the largest, or that the Joint Intelligence
Bureau is the lrgest with some sixty percent of the total staff.
The Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) is the
ISI's main international financial vehicle.
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence is of particular
importance at the joint services level. The directorate's
importance derives from the fact that the agency is charged
with managing covert operations outside of Pakistan --
whether in Afghanistan, Kashmir, or farther afield. The ISI
supplies weapons, training, advice and planning assistance
to terrorists in Punjab and Kashmir, as well as the separatist
movements in the Northeast frontier areas of India.
The 1965 war in Kashmir provoked a major crisis in
intelligence. When the war started, there was a complete
collapse of the operations of all the intellience agencies,
which had been largely devoted to domestic investigative
work such as tapping telephone conversations and chasing
political suspects. The ISI, after the commencement of the
1965 Indo-Pakistan war, was apparently unable to locate an
Indian armoured division due to its preoccupation with
political affairs. Ayub Khan set up a committee headed by
General Yahya Khan to examine the working of the agencies.
The ISI has been deeply involved in domestic politics and has
kept track of the incumbent regime's opponents. Prior to the
imposition of Martial Law in 1958, ISI reported to the
Commander-in-Chief of the Army (C-in-C). When martial Law
was promulgated in 1958, all the intelligence agencies fell
under the direct control of the President and Chief Martial
Law Administrator, and the three intelligence agencies
began competing to demonstrate their loyalty to Ayub Khan
and his government. The ISI and the MI became extremely
active during the l964 presidential election keeping
politicians, particularly the East Pakistanis, under
surveillance.
The ISI became even more deeply involved in domestic
politics under General Yahya Khan, notably in East Pakistan,
where operations were mounted to ensure that no political
party should get an overall majority in the general election.
An amount of Rs 29 lac was expended for this purpose, and
attempts were made to infiltrate the inner circles of the
Awami League. The operation was a complete disaster.
Mr. Bhutto promoted General Zia-Ul-Haq in part because the
Director of ISI, General Gulam Jilani Khan, was actively
promoting him. General Zia, in return, retained General Jilani
as head of ISI after his scheduled retirement. Zulfiqar Ali
Bhutto established the Federal Security Force and gave it
wide-ranging powers to counter the influence of ISI, but the
force was abolished when the military regime of Zia ul-Haq
seized power in 1977. When the regime was unpopular with
the military and the president (as was Benazir Bhutto's first
government), the agency helped topple it by working with
opposition political parties.
The ISI became much more effective under the leadership of
Hameed Gul. The 1990 elections are widely believed to have
been rigged. The Islami Jamhoori Ittehad [IJI] party was a
conglomerate formed of nine mainly rightist parties by the
ISI under Lt General Hameed Gul to ensure the defeat of
Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in the polls. Gul denies
this, claiming that the ISI's political cell created by Z.A.
Bhutto only 'monitored' the elections.
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan made Pakistan a country
of paramount geostrategic importance. In a matter of days,
the United States declared Pakistan a "frontline state"
against Soviet aggression and offered to reopen aid and
military assistance deliveries. For the remainder of Zia's
tenure, the United States generally ignored Pakistan's
developing nuclear program. Pakistan's top national security
agency, the Army's Directorate for Inter-Services
Intelligence, monitored the activities of and provided advice
and support to the mujahidin, and commandos from the
Army's Special Services Group helped guide the operations
inside Afghanistan. The ISI trained about 83,000 Afghan
Mujahideen between 1983 to 1997 and dispatched them to
Afghanistan. Pakistan paid a price for its activities. Afghan
and Soviet forces conducted raids against mujahidin bases
inside Pakistan, and a campaign of terror bombings and
sabotage in Pakistan's cities, guided by Afghan intelligence
agents, caused hundreds of casualties. In 1987, some 90
percent of the 777 terrorist incidents recorded worldwide
took place in Pakistan.
The ISI thereafter continued to actively participate in Afghan
Civil War, supporting the Talibaan in their fight against the
Rabbani government.
ISI is currently engaged in covertly supporting the Kashmiri
Mujahideen in their fight against the Indian authorities in
Kashmir. Reportedly "Operation Tupac" is the designation of
the three part action plan for the liberation of Kashmir,
initiated by President Zia Ul Haq in 1988 after the failure of
"Operation Gibraltar." The designation is derived from Tupac
Amru, the 18th century prince who led the war of liberation
in Uruguay against the Spanish rule.
According to a report compiled by the Joint Intelligence
Committee (JIC) of India in 1995, ISI spent about Rs 2.4 crore
per month to sponsor its activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
Although all groups reportedly receive arms and training
from Pakistan, the pro-Pakistani groups are reputed to be
favored by the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence. As
of May 1996, at least six major militant organizations, and
several smaller ones, operate in Kashmir. Their forces are
variously estimated at between 5,000 and 10,000 armed
men. They are roughly divided between those who support
independence and those who support accession to Pakistan.
The oldest and most widely known militant organization, the
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), has spearheaded
the movement for an independent Kashmir. Its student wing
is the Jammu and Kashmir Students Liberation Front (JKSLF).
A large number of other militant organizations have emerged
since 1989, some of which also support independence,
others of which support Kashmir's accession to Pakistan. The
most powerful of the pro-Pakistani groups is the Hezb-ul-
Mujahedin. The other major groups are Harakat-ul Ansar, a
group which reportedly has a large number of non-Kashmiris
in it, Al Umar, Al Barq, Muslim Janbaz Force and Lashkar-e
Toiba, which is also made up largely of fighters from
Afghanistan and Pakistan. According to press reports, several
hundred fighters from Afghanistan and other Muslim
countries have also joined some of the militant groups or
have formed their own. The Harakat ul-Ansar group, a
powerful militant organization which first emerged in 1993,
is said to be made up largely of non-Kashmiris.
ISI is reported to operate training camps near the border of
Bangladesh where members of separatist groups of the
northeastern states, known as the "United Liberation Front
Of Seven Sisters" [ULFOSS] are trained with military
equipment and terrorist activities. These groups include the
National Security Council of Nagaland [NSCN], People's
Liberation Army [PLA], United Liberation Front of Assam
[ULFA], and North East Students Organization [NESO].
ISI is said to have intensified its activities in the southern
Indian States of Hyderabad, Bangalore, Cochin, Kojhikode,
Bhatkal, and Gulbarga. In Andhra Pradesh the Ittehadul
Musalmeen and the Hijbul Mujahideen are claimed to be
involved in subversive activities promoted by ISI. And
Koyalapattinam, a village in Tamil Nadu, is said to be the
common center of operations of ISI and the Liberation Tigers.
The ISI’s involvement in the September 1992 election
campaign period is well-known in Pakistan. Major-General
Ehtesham Zamir, supposedly sidelined after the 30 April
referendum, emerged as a key behind-the-scenes player in
selecting and cultivating ‘pro-government’ candidates. Tariq
Aziz, General Musharraf’s powerful principal secretary, and
Brigadier (retd.) Ejaz Shah, Punjab home secretary and a
former ISI officer, were also heavily involved in shoring up
the PML(Q), the Grand National Alliance, and independent
candidates considered to be ‘pro-military’. Politicians
throughout the country reported visits by ISI and other
government officials, during which they were urged to join a
government-backed party and sometimes threatened with
future corruption charges if they didn’t comply. These tactics,
which essentially amount to pre-poll rigging, further reduced
public faith in Musharraf’s promise to hold impartial
elections.
