The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) (Urdu: بین الخدماتی سراغرسانی) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan, operationally responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing information relevant for national security from around the world. As one of the principal members of the Pakistani intelligence community, the ISI reports to its Director-General and is primarily focused on providing intelligence for the government of Pakistan.
The ISI consists primarily of serving military officers drawn on secondment from the three service branches of the Pakistan Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force), hence the name "Inter-Services". However, the agency recruits many civilians. Since 1971, the ISI has been headed formally by a serving three-star general of the Pakistan Army, who is appointed by the Prime Minister on the recommendation of the Chief of Army Staff, who recommends three officers for the position. As of 2021, the ISI is currently headed by Lieutenant-General Faiz Hameed,[2] who was appointed as its Director-General on 17 June 2019.[3] The ISI Director-General reports directly to both the Prime Minister and the Army Chief.
The agency gained global recognition and fame in the 1980s, when it supported the Afghan mujahideen against the Soviet Union during the Soviet–Afghan War in the erstwhile Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. During the war, the ISI worked in close coordination with the United States' Central Intelligence Agency and the United Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Service to run Operation Cyclone—a program to train and fund the mujahideen with support from China, Israel,[4][5][6] and Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations.[7][8][9]
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the ISI with funding from Saudi Arabia provided strategic support and intelligence to the Afghan Taliban against the Northern Alliance during the Afghan Civil War in the 1990s.[10][11][12]
History
The Inter-Services Intelligence was created in 1948 following the 1947–48 Pakistan-India war, which had exposed weaknesses in intelligence gathering, sharing, and coordination between the Army, Air Force, Navy, Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Military Intelligence (MI).[13] 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.[13] 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.[13] Naval Commander Syed Mohammad Ahsan, who was tenuring as Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence, and played a pivotal role in formulating the procedures of the ISI, undertook and managed the recruitment and expansion of the ISI. Following the 1958 coup d'état, all national intelligence agencies came under the direct control of the President and Chief Martial Law Administrator. The maintenance of national security, which was the principal function of these agencies, came to mean the consolidation of the Ayub regime. Any criticism of the regime was seen as a threat to national security.[14] After Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq had seized power on 5 July 1977 and became the Chief Martial Law Administrator, the ISI was expanded to collecting intelligence on the Pakistan Communist Party and Pakistan Peoples Party.[15] The Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s saw the enhancement of the ISI's covert operations. A special Afghanistan section (called the SS Directorate) was created under the command of Brigadier Mohammed Yousaf to oversee day-to-day operations in Afghanistan. A number of 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."[16] In September 2001, Pervez Musharraf appointed a new Director General for ISI, Lieutenant General Ehsan ul Haq[17] who was replaced later by the Lieutenant General Shuja Pasha.[18] Some analysts (mainly Indian) believe the ISI provides support to militant groups, though according to other analysts, these allegations remain unsubstantiated with evidence.[19][20] General Javed Nasir confessed to assisting the besieged Bosnian Muslims, despite a UN arms embargo supporting Chinese Muslims in Xinjiang, rebel Muslim groups in the Philippines, and some religious groups in Central Asia.[21] National Intelligence Directorate (NID) was formed in 2014 to pool and share intelligence gathered by over 30 of Pakistan's intelligence agencies to combat terrorism in Pakistan effectively.[22]
Organization
A Director-General, who is traditionally a serving Lieutenant-General (Three-star general) in the Pakistan Army, heads the ISI.[citation needed] Three Deputy Director-Generals, who are serving two-star military officers, report directly to the Director-General with each deputy heading three wings respectively:[23]
- Internal Wing – responsible for domestic intelligence, domestic counter-intelligence, counter-espionage, and counter-terrorism.
- External Wing – responsible for external intelligence, external counter-intelligence, and espionage.
- Foreign Relations Wing – responsible for diplomatic intelligence and foreign relations intelligence.
The wing is particularly significant because the port at Gwadar is slated to be a linchpin for the major trade corridor linking northwestern China to the Persian Gulf.[24]
Military officers of the armed forces as well as civilian officers from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA}, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Pakistan Customs, police and judiciary make up ISI's general staff.. They are recruited on deputations for three to four years and enhance the ISI's professional competence. Experienced army officers who perform well are given repeated extensions in their service.[citation needed] According to some experts, the ISI is the largest intelligence agency in the world in terms of total staff. While the total number has never been made public, experts estimate around 10,000 officers and staff, which does not include informants or assets.[25]
Departments
- Responsible for paramilitary and covert operations as well as special activities.[citation needed] Its roles are akin to Special Activities Division of CIA and a handful of officers are trained by the CIA's SAD and active since the 1960s.[26]
- Joint Intelligence X
- Coordinates all the other departments in the ISI.[25] Intelligence and information gathered from the other departments are sent to JIX which prepares and processes the information and from which prepares reports which are presented.
- Joint Intelligence Bureau
- Responsible for gathering anti-state intelligence and fake drugs, fake currency and TTP.[25]
- Joint Counterintelligence Bureau
- Focused on foreign intelligence agencies.
- Joint Intelligence North
- exclusively responsible for the Jammu and Kashmir region and Northern Areas.[25]
- Joint Intelligence Miscellaneous
- responsible for espionage, including offensive intelligence operations, in other countries.[25]
- Joint Signal Intelligence Bureau
- operates intelligence collections along the India-Pakistan border.[25] The JSIB is the ELINT, COMINT, and SIGINT directorate that is charged to divert the attacks from the foreign non-communications electromagnetic radiations emanating from other than nuclear detonations or radioactive sources.[25]
- Joint Intelligence Technical
- deals with development of science and technology to advance the Pakistan intelligence gathering. The directorate is charged to take steps against the electronic warfare attacks in Pakistan.[25] Without any exception, officers from this divisions are reported to be engineer officers and military scientists who deal with the military promotion of science and technology.[25] There are also separate explosives and a chemical and biological warfare sections.[25]
- SS Directorate
- Comprises officers from Special services group [SSG]. It monitors the terrorist groups activities that operate against the state of Pakistan. The SS Directorate is comparable to that of The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Clandestine Service (NCS), and responsible for special operations against terrorists.
- Political Internal Division[citation needed]
- Monitored the financial funding of the right-wing political science sphere against the left-wing political science circles. This department was involved in providing funds to the anti-left wing forces during the general elections of 1965, 1977, 1985, 1988, and 1990.[27] The department is now inactive since March 2012 with the new Director General taking the operational charge of the ISI.[28]
Directors-General
Headquarters
The ISI is headquartered in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. The complex consists of various low-rise buildings separated by lawns and fountains. The entrance to the complex is next to a private hospital. Declan Walsh of The Guardian said that the entrance is "suitably discreet: no sign, just a plainclothes officer packing a pistol who directs visitors through a chicane of barriers, soldiers and sniffer dogs".[1] Walsh said that the complex "resembles a well-funded private university" and that the buildings are "neatly tended," the lawns are "smooth," and the fountains are "tinkling." He described the central building, which houses the director general's office on the top floor, as "a modern structure with a round, echoing lobby".[1]
Recruitment and training
Both civilians and members of the armed forces can join the ISI. For civilians, recruitment is advertised and is jointly handled by the Federal Public Services Commission (FPSC) and civilian ISI agents are considered employees of the Ministry of Defence. The FPSC conducts various examinations testing 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. The selected persons are then sent to the Defence Services Intelligence Academy (DSIA) for six months of training. Later, these officers 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 declared the core team of ISI.[29]
Major operations
Functions
- Collection of information and extraction of intelligence from information
- ISI obtains information critical to Pakistan's strategic interests. Both overt and covert means are adopted.[13]
- Classification of intelligence
- Data is sifted through, classified as appropriate, and filed with the assistance of the computer network in ISI's headquarters in Islamabad.[13]
- Aggressive intelligence
- The primary mission of ISI includes aggressive intelligence which comprises espionage, psychological warfare, subversion, sabotage.[13]
- Counterintelligence
- ISI has a dedicated section which spies against enemy's intelligence collection.[13]
Methods
- Diplomatic missions provide an ideal cover and ISI centres in a target country are generally located on embassy premises.[13]
- ISI operatives find good covers in multinational organisations. Non-governmental organisations and cultural programmes are also popular screens to shield ISI activities.[13]
- Media
- International media centres can easily absorb ISI operatives and provide freedom of movement.[13]
- Collaboration with other agencies
- ISI maintains active collaboration with other secret services in various countries. Its contacts with Saudi Arabian Intelligence Services, Chinese Intelligence, the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) have been well known.[citation needed]
- Third Country Technique
- ISI has been active in obtaining information and operating through third countries like Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Iran, Turkey and China.[citation needed]
By country
Afghanistan
- 1982–1997
- ISI is believed to have had access to Osama bin Laden in the past.[30][31] ISI played a central role in the U.S.-backed guerrilla war to oust the Soviet Army from Afghanistan in the 1980s. That Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-backed effort flooded Pakistan with weapons and with Afghan, Pakistani and Arab "mujahideen". The CIA relied on the ISI to train fighters, distribute arms, and channel money. The ISI trained about 83,000 Afghan mujahideen between 1983 and 1997, and dispatched them to Afghanistan.[citation needed] B. Raman, former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) officer now an Indian think-tank, of South Asia Analysis Group, claims that the Central Intelligence Agency through the ISI promoted the smuggling of heroin into Afghanistan to turn Soviet troops into heroin addicts and thus greatly reduce their fighting potential.[32] The factions that were backed by the ISI were Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-i Islami, and the forces fighting for Jalaluddin Haqqani.
- 1986
- Worrying that among the large influx of Afghan refugees who had come into Pakistan because the Soviet–Afghan War were members of KHAD (Afghan Intelligence), the ISI successfully convinced Mansoor Ahmed,who was the chargé d'affaires of the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad, to turn his back on the Soviet backed Afghan government. He and his family were secretly escorted out of their residence and given safe passage on a London-bound British Airways flight in exchange for classified information in regard to Afghan agents in Pakistan. The Soviet and Afghan diplomats tried unsuccessfully to find the family.[33]
- 1990
- According to Peter Tomsen, the United States Special Envoy to Afghanistan, neighboring Pakistan had tried to install Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in power in Afghanistan against the opposition of all other mujahideen commanders and factions as early as 1990.[34] In October 1990, the ISI had devised a plan for Hekmatyar to conduct a mass bombardment of the Afghan capital Kabul, then still under communist rule, with possible Pakistani troop renforcements.[34] This unilateral ISI-Hekmatyar plan came although the thirty most important mujahideen commanders had agreed to hold a conference inclusive of all Afghan groups to decide on a common future strategy.[34] The United States finally put pressure on Pakistan to stop the 1990 plan, which was subsequently called off until 1992.[34]
- 1994
- The Taliban regime is widely accepted[by whom?] to have been supported by the ISI and Pakistani military from 1994 to 2001, which Pakistan officially denied during that time. Then-Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf, now admits to supporting the Taliban until 9/11.[35] According to Pakistani Afghanistan expert Ahmed Rashid, "between 1994 and 1999, an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 Pakistanis trained and fought in Afghanistan" on the side of the Taliban.[36] Following the 9/11 attack on the United States by Al-Qaeda, Pakistan says it felt it necessary to cooperate with the US. Others,[who?] however, maintain Pakistan continues to support the Afghan Taliban, which Pakistan rejects.
- 2008
- Terrorists attacked the Indian Consulate General in Jalalabad in 2007. According to Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security, individuals arrested by the Afghan government stated that the ISI was behind the attack and had given them ₹120,000 for the operation.[37]
- 2001 onwards
- American officials believe members of the Pakistani intelligence service are alerting militants to imminent American missile strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas.[38] In October 2009, Davood Moradian, a senior policy adviser to foreign minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, said the British and American governments were fully aware of the ISI's role but lacked the courage to confront Islamabad. He claimed that the Afghan government had given British and American intelligence agents evidence that proved ISI involvement in bombings.[39
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