Inter-Services Intelligence
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; Urdu: بین الخدماتی استخبارات, romanized: bayn al-khidmati estekhbarat) is the largest and best-known component of the Pakistani intelligence community. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant to Pakistan's national security. The ISI reports to its director-general and is primarily focused on providing intelligence to the Pakistani government.
Intelligence agency overview
1 January 1948
خُذُواحِذرُکُم [Quran 4:71]
"take your precautions" (heraldic slogan)
~10,000 (2009)[2]
The ISI primarily consists of serving military officers drawn on secondment from the three service branches of the Pakistan Armed Forces: the Pakistan Army, Pakistan Navy, and Pakistan Air Force, hence the name "Inter-Services"; the agency also recruits civilians. Since 1971, it has been formally headed by a serving three-star general of the Pakistan Army, who is appointed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan on the recommendation of the Chief of Army Staff, who recommends three officers for the position. As of March 2024, the ISI is headed by Nadeem Anjum, a lieutenant general.[3] The ISI director-general reports directly to both the prime minister and the Chief of Army Staff.
The agency gained global recognition and fame in the 1980s when it backed the Afghan mujahideen against the Soviet Union during the Soviet–Afghan War in the former Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. Over the course of the conflict, the ISI worked in close coordination with the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States and the Secret Intelligence Service of the United Kingdom to run Operation Cyclone, a program to train and fund the mujahideen in Afghanistan with support from China, Saudi Arabia, and other Muslim nations.[4][5][6]
Following the dissolution of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in 1992, the ISI provided strategic support and intelligence to the Taliban against the Northern Alliance during the Afghan Civil War in the 1990s.[7][8][9] The ISI has strong links with jihadist groups, particularly in Afghanistan and Kashmir.[10][11][12][13][14][15] Its special warfare unit is the Covert Action Division. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in their first ever open acknowledgement in 2011 in US Court, said that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) sponsors and oversees the insurgency in Kashmir by arming separatist militant groups.[14][15]
History
The Inter-Services Intelligence was created in 1948 following the first Kashmir war, which had exposed weaknesses in intelligence gathering, sharing, and coordination between the army, air force, navy, Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Military Intelligence (MI). The ISI was structured to be operated by officers from the three main military services and to specialize in the collection, analysis, and assessment of external military and non-military intelligence. The ISI was the brainchild of the former British Indian Army major general Sir Robert Cawthome, then Deputy Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Army and selected Colonel Shahid Hamid to set up the agency. Initially, the ISI had no role in the collection of internal intelligence, except for the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Pakistan Administered Kashmir.
Naval commander Syed Mohammad Ahsan, who served as deputy director of Naval Intelligence and helped formulate ISI procedure, undertook and managed the recruitment and expansion of the ISI. After the 1958 coup d'état, all national intelligence agencies was directly controlled by the president and Chief Martial Law Administrator. The maintenance of national security, which was the principal function of these agencies, resulted in the consolidation of the Ayub regime. Any criticism of the regime was seen as a threat to national security.[16]
On 5 July 1977 through Operation Fair Play, the ISI began collecting intelligence on the Pakistan Communist Party and the Pakistan Peoples Party.[17] The Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s saw the enhancement of the ISI's covert operations. A special Afghanistan section known as the SS Directorate was created under the command of Brigadier Mohammed Yousaf to oversee day-to-day operations in Afghanistan. Officers from the ISI's Covert Action Division received training in the United States, and "many covert action experts of the CIA were attached to the ISI to guide it in its operations against Soviet troops by using the Afghan Mujahideen".[18]
Many analysts (mainly Indian and American) believe that the ISI provides support to militant groups, though others think these allegations remain unsubstantiated.[19][20]
The ISI has often been accused of playing a role in major terrorist attacks across India including militancy in Kashmir, the July 2006 Mumbai Train Bombings,[21] the 2001 Indian Parliament attack,[22] the 2006 Varanasi bombings, the August 2007 Hyderabad bombings,[23] and the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.[24][25]
The ISI has been accused of supporting Taliban forces[26] and recruiting and training mujahideen[27] to fight in Afghanistan[28] and Kashmir. Based on communication interceptions, US intelligence agencies concluded Pakistan's ISI was behind the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul on 7 July 2008, a charge that the governments of India and Afghanistan had laid previously.[29] It is believed to be aiding these organisations in eradicating perceived enemies or those opposed to their cause, including India, Russia, China, Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other members of NATO.[30][31] Satellite imagery from the Federal Bureau of Investigation[32] suggest the existence of several terrorist camps in Pakistan, with at least one militant admitting to being trained in the country. As part of the ongoing Kashmir conflict, Pakistan is alleged to be backing separatist militias.[33] Many nonpartisan sources believe that officials within Pakistan's military and the ISI sympathise with and aid Islamic terrorists, saying that the "ISI has provided covert but well-documented support to terrorist groups active in Kashmir, including the al-Qaeda affiliate Jaish-e-Mohammed".[34]
General Javed Nasir confessed to assisting the besieged Bosnian Muslims, supporting Chinese Muslims in Xinjiang despite a UN arms embargo, rebel Muslim groups in the Philippines, and some religious groups in Central Asia.[35] The National Intelligence Coordination Committee (NICC) of Pakistan is headed by the Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence. The overarching intelligence coordination body was given assent by the Prime Minister of Pakistan in November 2020. It held its inaugural session on 24 June 2021, marking the date the committee became functional. [36][37]
Recruitment and training
Both civilians and members of the armed forces can join the ISI. For civilians, recruitment is advertised and handled by both the Federal Public Services Commission (FPSC); they are considered employees of the Ministry of Defence. The FPSC conducts examinations that test the candidate's knowledge of current affairs, English, and various analytical abilities. Based on the results, the FPSC shortlists the candidates and sends the list to the ISI who conduct the initial background checks. Selected candidates are then invited for an interview which is conducted by a joint committee comprising both ISI and FPSC officials, and are then sent to the Defence Services Intelligence Academy (DSIA) for six months of training. The candidates are transferred to different sections for open source information where they serve for five years. After five years of basic service, officers are entrusted with sensitive jobs and considered part of the core team.[61]
Since Pakistan launched offensives on Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and other jihadist groups, the country's armed forces, intelligence services (particularly the ISI), military industrial complexes, paramilitary forces, and police forces have come under intense attacks. The ISI has played a major role in targeting these groups and has faced retaliatory strikes as well. As of 2011, more than 300 ISI officials have been killed.[196] Major incidents when attempts were made to target the ISI include: