Pakistan - The Inter Services Intelligence (ISI)

A very dubious bunch indeed. But then, most spooks are. Forget to whom they're supposed to be answerable. Most of the time they're not. Answerable, that is. Pick any crisis in the region and you can pretty much bet that there'll be a shady character or two from ISI running around there somewhere. To a very large extent indeed they have bankrolled the Taliban in Afghanistan with enough cash and weapons to keep the war there going well into the next millennium. In fact the Taliban was pretty much created in the 'deeni madressahs' (religious schools) in Pakistan. The aim, of course, is to secure influence in Afghanistan for Pakistan...its just that it doesn't really seem to be working. The Talibs might take the cash, but they sure as hell don't take the orders. Well, not the ones they don't like at any rate. Much the same is applied to Kashmir, where various separatist groups are trained and sponsored in Pakistan. Unsurprisingly, the Indians aren't too chuffed. So, how does it all work? What's the modus operandi, so to say? Its fairly straight forward. Pakistani volunteers travelling to Afghanistan are bussed across the border at Torkham and Chaman. ISI operatives have linked up with right wing Pakistani religious parties such as Jamiat-e-Ulema Islami and together they have managed to send an estimated 8,000 Pakistani volunteers to fight in Afghanistan under the Taliban. The more senior ISI operatives to be hanging around Afghanistan have been Colonel "Gul" in Khandahar and Colonel 'Imam' in Herat. the other groups that the ISI have to liase with are Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (operating in Kashmir), Tablighi-e-Jamiat (Afghanistan) and Harakat-e-Ansar, also called Harakat-ul-Mujahedin (which again operates in Afghanistan). The latter is dedicated to spreading the "jihad" abroad and has also been added to the State Department's lovely list of terrorist organisations. As said, ISI don't really bother asking any of Pakistan's (usually useless) politicians for permission for any of the above. In fact they get quite ratty if any politico tries to shove his oar in on any of their nice little operations running on the side. Just take a look at old Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He thought he could start closing down ISI training camps for the kids going to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Needless to say he is now in the ranks of the unemployed, while the military put their boots up on his desk. The directorate of Inter Services Intelligence was founded in 1948 by British army officer, Major General R. Cawthome. Then it was Britain's means of snooping around and quietly sending arms to whoever they liked at the time. Things haven't really changed that much. ISI is mainly made up of military officers. Its a bit like the CIA on a more paramilitary scale with a bit less subtlety than the Langley Boys. (One shivers at the thought). Altogether there are as many as 10,000 members of ISI; its a lot, I know, but they have got all those dinky little wars, (Tajikistan-on and off-Afghanistan, Kashmir, etc.) to keep their fingers on and the weapons flowing in. Don't ever think its easy being a spook. but at least with the new military government in Pakistan there won't be any more interfering politicos on the scene for a while.