Who controls I.S.I.? Confusion prevails in Pakistan

Islamabad, Aug 2 (PTI) Confusion persists over which
wing of the Pakistan government is currently controlling the
powerful I.S.I. agency, which is at the centre of a
controversy after being linked by U.S. intelligence agencies
to the suicide bombings on the Indian embassy in Kabul.

The Pakistan People's Party-led government became
embroiled in the controversy when it hastily issued a
notification on July 26 that said the Inter-Services
Intelligence (I.S.I.) and Intelligence Bureau (I.B.) were
being placed under the control of the interior ministry.

Following strong opposition to the move from the
Pakistan Army, which provides the I.S.I.'s officer cadre, and
President Pervez Musharraf, the government issued a
clarification that said the agency would continue to perform
under the Prime Minister and that the earlier notification had
been "misinterpreted".

The clarification suggested the government had
reversed its earlier decision but the initial notification
issued by the Cabinet Division has not yet been formally
withdrawn, The News daily reported Saturday.

This has raised questions as to whether the government
had again changed its mind and decided to keep the I.S.I.
under the interior ministry. The fact that the notification
has not been withdrawn by the Cabinet Division means that the
I.S.I. and the I.B. "stand transferred to the interior
ministry", the report said.

A source in the interior ministry told the newspaper
that "some authorities" had been verbally informed to maintain
the earlier status of the I.S.I. However, it is believed the
confusion over the control of the I.S.I. would remain till the
Cabinet Division's notification is "formally cancelled".

The controversy over the control of the I.S.I. broke
just as Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani reached Washington
on his maiden visit to the U.S. after assuming the post.

Top U.S. officials, including President George W. Bush
and Central Intelligence Agency chief Michael V. Hayden,
confronted Gilani about the I.S.I.'s links to militants and
the suicide attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul.

Bush asked Gilani and his delegation who was in
control of the I.S.I.. Bush also said the U.S. was reluctant
to share intelligence with Pakistan because such information
was leaked to militants by elements in the I.S.I.

India too has linked the I.S.I. to the deadly attack
on its embassy in Kabul, which claimed 60 lives, including
those of its two top diplomats.

Pakistan has dismissed the allegations against the spy
agency, describing them as "total rubbish".

P.P.P. chief Asif Ali Zardari initially backed the
move to place the I.S.I. under civilian control, saying it
would help prevent other countries from accusing the agency of
fomenting terrorism. However, he later toned down his remarks,
saying the interior ministry would have the role of "an
assistant in the affairs looked after by the I.S.I.".

It is widely believed that Rehman Malik, a close aide
of Zardari who functions as the interior minister, was behind
the move to put the I.S.I. under the ministry's control. He
too subsequently distanced himself from the move and said he
would look into the matter to fix responsibility.