ISI Rogues, Real or Imagined?

Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was involved in the recent deadly bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, according to a report in the New York Times.

In response to the NY Times report, Ms. Sherry Rahman, Pakistan's information minister, was quoted by AP as saying: "Years of backing an anti-Soviet jihad has left its mark. There are probably still individuals within the ISI who are ideologically sympathetic to the Taliban and act on their own in ways that are not in convergence with the policies and interests of the government. We need to identify these people and weed them out."

Later, Ms. Rahman claimed she was quoted out of context by a western wire service (AP) and added, "There is no question of any purge in the ISI. The government has already stated that there are no links or evidence of ISI involvement in the Kabul bombing. It was in the past during the Afghan jihad against Soviet forces that a few pro-Taliban elements had found their way in, and with the change in policy have been firmly rooted out."

Given the past record of ISI's deep involvement with militants in Afghanistan and Kashmir, it is quite plausible that there are rogue elements within the ISI up to their old tricks again. After all, which intelligence agency in the world has been pristine in making a clean break or in its dealings with unsavory characters, regardless of the nationality or state policy?

The American CIA has been the subject of purges more than once since its creation after World War II. First, under Admiral Stansfield Turner appointed by President Carter, in late 1970s. The second time, more recently, by Porter Goss after the 911 terror attacks and Iraq intelligence debacles. And yet, the CIA continues to be under suspicion for highly questionable practices carried out by CIA operatives with or without the approval of senior officials. Not the least of these criminal actions are kidnappings, imprisonments, torture and murder of many innocent people around the world. Some of these actions involving British, Canadian and German citizens have been well documented recently. It is alleged that the ISI and other intelligence agencies have collaborated with the CIA in kidnapping citizens of Pakistan and other countries as a part of the ongoing "war on terror". Hundreds of Pakistanis have gone missing in the last few years.

Pakistan's ISI also had a major purge ordered by President Musharraf in 2002 after 911 when Pakistan changed its policy toward the Taliban. It is not clear how complete this purge was, given the long history of a very large number ISI operatives who were embedded with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda elements for a long time. In fact, Gen. Akhtar Abdul Rahman, Pakistani ISI’s head from 1980 to 1987, regularly met with bin Laden in Peshawar, Pakistan; the CIA essentially micromanaged Afghanistan’s opium production; the ISI trained militants to attack the Soviet troops; well over 100,000 Islamic militants were trained in Pakistan between 1986 and 1992 in camps constructed and overseen by the CIA and MI6, with the British SAS training future al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in bomb-making and other terrorist skills.

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.