Need for a directorate of counter-intelligence
According to our defence minister and the Western press, during the prime minister’s US itinerary President Bush shared his concerns regarding the alleged Taliban appeasement by some elements in the ISI. This is not much. Since the genesis of the Taliban owed quite a lot to the ISI’s manoeuvres it is natural for some elements to feel some degree of affinity with the haunted group. The Red Mosque imbroglio and the sudden rise of the Taliban inside Pakistan, exactly at a time when the Western press had dismissed its impact inside Pakistan, certainly point in the very direction. This is apart from the fact that had the Taliban been a smart a state-actor it would have found it quite easy to penetrate the ISI for it is an agency which has already lost touch with counter intelligence. Want any proof? Well, has it ever occurred to you that how a highly classified document called the Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission Report found its way to an Indian newspaper during the reign of a military dictator here? Pakistan is a soft state and of course its intelligence agency is seriously prone to penetration for it is leaking like a battered septic tank.
Yet this does not mean that the ISI is the only group to blame. We all know that during the Cold War the CIA also has affinity to the religious militants. Some of the handlers are still associated with the agency. Add to it the fact that the Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) has a history of penetration into and the manipulation of the CIA. Unlike our intelligence folks Indians being a growing regional power take their chores far too seriously. During Karzai’s regime the chances have increased of such a manoeuvre for the CIA has to rely quite deeply on their Afghan guides who in turn rely quite a lot on the Indian moles for India owing to its JN Dixit Doctrine is the highest bidder in the region. Data can hence easily be manipulated. Yet I am not shifting responsibility. It is the ISI’s responsibility to do as much as it has signed up for. And apart from everything else to ensure that while it meets the government assigned international commitments, it does not allow itself to be used by a foreign power. The question then arises how to mend a leaking faucet and to ensure that none of the intelligence operative can use the agency’s resources for a personal agenda.
It is the place where counter intelligence steps in. During the Cold War era the world agencies used to attach considerable importance to the counter intelligence operations. In those days the barium meals were quite in vogue. The philosophy of the barium meals is that after developing a hunch about the geography of the leak to feed bits of important but not critical information to one segment only. A host of such pieces can be fed to various segments with the clear capacity to identify and then to wait for the leak. The moment that leak occurs you can conveniently identify the mole. This technique can be used both upside down and downside up. In this way even a mere field operator can also identify the culprit. Yet this is not the only technique available. As James Jesus Angleton of the CIA counter intelligence used to say you need patience of a saint to conduct such operations. In Pakistan’s case foreign intrusion is so severe that you may not find too much difficulty in identifying any particular strain. But this may also for a few months affect the ongoing anti-terror operations. The right question to ask is whether our Western friends would also have the same patience too. I believe they should display this much empathy for once such a counter intelligence manoeuvre has been completed and all malicious elements been weeded out what Pakistan may accomplish may put an end to all terrorism in the region. And the timing suits everyone too. August has already started and within no time winter will ensue. There fortunately exists a consensus among the intelligence agencies that during winters the operational capability of the Taliban remains all time low. Meanwhile the US and the rest of the West can address their own chinks in the intelligence armour. This ladies and gentlemen is the most serious need of the hour.
What can Pakistan do to improve its counter intelligence capacity? Well, honestly first of all it will have to understand that the times have changed and the intelligence agencies cannot be allowed to be used for political purposes. The first important step for us is to accept that no military regimes can prove trust worthy for the west and hence democracy is here to stay and to strengthen. The second important step is to bring all intelligence principals under one title. The US intelligence community now reports to the Director of National Intelligence whose responsibilities have been withdrawn from the CIA’s director. Perhaps we need to do any similar thing. I am aware of the sentiments of the armed forces on this. I clearly remember that when he was the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Ehsaan a former ISI chief was in favour of such a move. Unfortunately we witnessed a bit of a circus before the Prime Minister’s visit to the US when a clear attempt was made to bring the ISI and the IB under Rehman Malik. Given the degree of unpopularity Mr Malik enjoys within the country and the armed forces this was nothing but a damp squib. Again the ISI has nothing to do with the interior ministry and we do not need a Hameed Gul to know this much. Had someone other than Lt Gen (retired) Mahmud Durrani, Like Lt Gens (retired) Asad Durrani or Talat Masood or Gen Ehsaan were to become the National Security Advisor, he could also shoulder this burden.
The third and most important need of the hour is to develop a separate Directorate of Counter Intelligence with at least as much budget as that of the ISI. I know the ISI and MI also conduct or claim to conduct counter intelligence operations but this is an onerous responsibility and for the sake of the country’s survival we need a separate rubric for this. Time is very tricky and the leaking faucet can be mended on in this manner.
For couple of days the pak army disowned them and they were on the run .First the ISI and the notorious IB’s ran for shelter to Ministry of Defence but go a no with a know for answr and then they ran for the Interior Ministry here they covered the new but then again the military perhaps half heartedly will be paying them this month..
Rahman Malik or another cannot tackle the ‘ministry of intelligence’ because they cover each others corruption . and have slipped out of so many accountabilities. What the peoples party of Rahman Malik can do is DEFUNCT the notorious IB’s………..
The New York Times, the source of the latest report about ISI, does not have a particularly stellar record of credibility. The disinformation campaign by Judith Miller, one of its key reporters, is still fresh in the minds of many people. The truth is that this campaign was used by President Bush and Vice President Cheney in making the case for war in Iraq. The fact that NY Times reports clearly contributed to building up the case for Iraq war is particularly alarming, as it suggests the possibility that these reports would be used to justify another war.
Regardless of the credibility of the New York Times, it is important for Pakistan government to take the issue of rogues in the ISI seriously and review its practices. It must conduct its own thorough investigation and purge any one found to be engaging with the Taliban to aid in acts of terror. Pakistan’s President, the military brass and the Prime Minister must not tolerate any breach of discipline in carrying out the policies established by the democratically elected government. This is the only reasonable course of action for Pakistan to protect its own national interest and enable democracy to take root in Pakistan. There can be no success in the war on terror unless the ISI is made accountable to the people of Pakistan.
Sher we will have to discuss your point when we meet again.
Haq, a point well made. You have spoken with the lucidity that I have not quite been accustomed to expect from your comments. Thank you very much.
Yet I must submit that even though you are right about the extent of misreporting in the context of the Iraq war we journalists have a penchant of being exploited by the political class especially if it commands the state. But such abuses have been witnessed almost in all journals and media outlets and before the age of journalism in the books of history. Yet we cannot deny that the New York Times is among the most credible publications in the world. They may have facts wrong for the unverifiable information from the intelligence community constitutes a major source in the process of news gathering especially in war journalism. If the sources feed disinformation you cannot help but be abused. Let us not be too harsh on the good ole’ NYTimes.
As for the ISI, I believe it is time for the establishment of a permanent system of oversight not only for the sake of weeding out the religious fundos but also to ensure freedom from any foreign infiltration. It is where Counterintelligence comes in.
And finally while I have also been voicing my concern that the US may want to invade Pakistan or at the very least our tribal areas I believe that the time ripe for it has passed. I believe that if it could help it would have invaded the country before 10th of July. Why do I give a specific date? Because I believe before that date any assault could have accomplished its desired results and by the time of the US elections the occupation would have been complete. But visibly is no more the case. The force which is failing to defeat the Taliban cannot annexe a country than a few months. And in no time winter will be here. And if you have ever traveled through the Hindu Kush you’ll know how difficult it is to carry out operations through it during winters.
ISA plus IB’s is almost the full nation.The contradictory communication is so confused that O J Simpsons dirty remarks come out of ordinary ‘melay log ‘The IB’s have equally long hisory like ISI that is now eclared that it was created in 1948 but now these have seeped into every fibre of log society . As the services are thriving on US Aid that makes NY Times louder and sometimes rude .Long ago i was posting in South Asian Blogs of Ny Times and ‘olivia Adams clearly said she was sure Pak/India would go to war because we have paid for it,” i laughed that both the nations are on close friendship road and the Kashmir becoming the flash point for a nuke was dreamland ,India nmow believes that Pakistanis should finalise trade and Kashmir is free. The question of Islamabad drafting a trade deal is the question. I say let in India except giving them establishment. however she helped me overcome lot of supression i was in..
o yes, you know i am stuck in multan but you must not ignore my personal and historic influence in the region…Saddozais you understand are widely respected and Pakistan has pushed its railway to Kandahar too.
Afganistan has over 99 % of its real population suffering in refugee camps which they call ‘fate’ .
There are the Mujahedeen factions that were defeated by taliban and the toll taxes and roads remained with taliban ,they too filled foriegn pockets .
Pakistan is very affluent in the region but the ‘waza dari’ is deplorable. I believe there is no war and fighting is no solution.
P.S i m waiting for your blog on SAARC conference, Furrukh. You understand we have a more prospective economic future now then most of our donor nations..