World - Has Pakistan shut down ISI’s political wing?

Nirupama Subramanian

It’s a positive development, says Foreign Minister

ISLAMABAD: Has Pakistan’s ISI finally decided to stop meddling in domestic politics?

Reports circulating over the last two days suggest that the ISI has either disbanded or “made inactive” its “political wing,” notorious for making and unmaking politicians, political parties and governments.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told journalists in Multan two days ago that the political wing had been shut down. He called it a “positive development.” He described the ISI as “a precious national institution” and said it wanted to focus fully on counter-terrorism activities.

Surprisingly, there has been no formal announcement from the government of Mr. Qureshi’s disclosure, though this is one decision that would be welcomed widely as most Pakistanis hold the ISI responsible for the failure of democracy to take root in the country.

There has been no confirmation or denial from the Prime Minister’s Secretariat though the military-led ISI answers, at least on paper, to the Prime Minister.

The Daily Times said in an editorial it was “not convinced” that the political wing had been shut down, but said if true, this would be the next best alternative to civilian control over the ISI.

Earlier attempt


The PPP-led government tried to take over the ISI some months ago through a notification but had to back off hastily when the Army reasserted itself. The ISI’s political wing was officially established by PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto while he was in power to keep tabs on his political enemies.

The same political wing would later turn against his daughter Benazir, first by setting up a political party — the Islamic Jhamoori Ittehad led by Nawaz Sharif — against her in the 1988 elections, and later plotting to overthrow her government.

The ISI was also named in the reported rigging of the 2002 elections.

The creation of the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League (Q) is widely said to have been the handiwork of the ISI. It is said to have systematically worked on politicians in the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and in the PPP to break away and join the new party that was created especially to provide political backing and legitimacy to General (retd.) Musharraf.

Dawn newspaper commented the ISI should be able to concentrate more on intelligence about militant activity undistracted by its political duties.

But it also cautioned that the dismantling of the political wing would be “meaningless” if meddling continued through other channels. “An entire mindset has to change,” the paper said.