Leave the ISI alone
By Dr Ghayur Ayub
London, UK
Quaid-i-Azam was a statesman and a visionary. Among his decisions, two stand out: the inception of the ISI and keeping the tribal belt as a buffer zone. Today, both are under attack.
It was the founder leader who visualized the ISI to have an army outfit under the control of the prime minister. In this way, he wanted to keep a link between a disciplined army team and a civilian setup. Another visionary, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, modified the arrangement by setting up a political wing in the ISI’s structure. It could have worked well had it not been for a few power hungry generals supported by a few greedy politicians who disturbed the equilibrium for their personal gains.
Nevertheless, the ISI turned into one of the most capable professional networks in the world carrying equal weight vis-à-vis its counterparts in India, Israel, Britain and America. Rajiv Gandhi once desired to have an effective intelligence agency like the ISI for India. This became an irritant point for India and for that matter Israel. After 9/11 America joined India and Afghanistan in campaigning against the ISI through Karzai and its army operators. Unfortunately, a few shortsighted ‘wizards’ from within the country supported the campaign and started ‘pushing and pulling’ the institute in a mudslinging exercise.
But the ISI has the potentials to withstand such challenges and react in the most effective way. The latest being the well-known notification when someone tried to bring it under the control of the interior ministry. People started pointing fingers in a specific direction, but it is possible, that the ISI being a mature and time-tested player, played a shrewd game. It would be best to leave the ISI alone.
