he Inter-Services Intelligence or the ISI as it is commonly called, is the official intelligence agency of Pakistan.

An extension of the military services, it includes among its prime objectives not only safeguarding Pakistani interests, but also, reinforcing Pakistans power base in the region. It is generally accepted as the force behind the rise and proliferation of the Taliban in Afghanistan. It also supports a broad-based militant anti-India campaign. At first, the ISI focused primarily on domestic espionage, such as tapping telephone conversations and monitoring internal political affairs. Because of its narrow scope, it was reportedly unable to locate an Indian armored division during the IndoPakistani War in 1965. When the war was over, Ayub appointed General Yahya Khan to chair a committee to evaluate the ISI and its subdivisions.

The ISI headquarters is in Islamabad. The organization is conservatively estimated to have over 10,000 officers and staff members in addition to an unknown number of informants. Officers are seconded to it from the armed forces. Functions of the ISI include gathering foreign and domestic intelligence and synchronizing the intelligence of the military services. The agency maintains surveillance of foreign diplomats in Pakistan, Pakistani diplomats abroad, and politically active members of Pakistani society. It monitors its own staff, the media and foreigners. It tracks and intercepts communications and engages in covert offensive operations.

In the mid-1970s, Pakistan was the stage of a political power struggle. Prime Minister ZA Bhutto was compelled to promote Lieutenant General Zia-ul Haq to the position of Chief of Army Staff in 1976 partly because the Director of the ISI, General Gulam Jilani Khan, was Zias supporter. Zia reciprocated Jilani by extending his office beyond his scheduled retirement. Bhutto subsequently instituted the Federal Security Force with a broad power base in an attempt to moderate the influence of the ISI. In 1977, Zia seized power from Bhutto in a bloodless coup and became Chief Martial Law Administrator. He swiftly abolished the Federal Security Force and, after becoming President of Pakistan, had Bhutto executed in 1979 on murder charges.

For the last twenty-five years, the ISI has been involved in all significant domestic and foreign policy decisions in the country. 1. Joint Intelligence X (JIX) Details threat analyses and intelligence estimates. It provides administrative support to the other major divisions and regional organizations of the ISI. 2. Joint Intelligence Bureau (JIB) In the late 1980s, serious differences between the ISI and Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, daughter of ZA Bhutto, resulted in a rift between their respective offices. Events partially echoed those of her fathers tenure. Benazir set up a committee to review the activities of the countrys intelligence agencies. One of its main objectives was to make the ISI responsible exclusively for external intelligence. However, before any reforms could be put into effect, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan

powerful divisions of the ISI, monitors political intelligence. One of its three subsections is exclusively allocated for operations against India. 3. Joint Counter Intelligence Bureau (JCIB) Oversees intelligence operations in China, South Asia, Afghanistan, the Middle East, and the Muslim republics of the former USSR. It also monitors Pakistani diplomats abroad. 4. Joint Intelligence/North (JIN) Conducts the ISIs clandestine operations for the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. 5. Joint Intelligence Miscellaneous (JIM) Responsible for foreign espionage. This includes covert offensive operations. 6. Joint Signal Intelligence Bureau (JSIB) Monitors Wireless and Photos. It has a chain of stations that track and collect intelligence signals along the IndoPakistani border, and it provides communications assistance for militant campaigns in Kashmir. The ISI maintains at least three primary sections in addition to the six outlined above: the Joint Intelligence Technical division, a section designated for explosives, and another responsible for chemical warfare.

for new elections. In 1990, under the ISI leadership of Hameed Gul, Pakistani polls were allegedly manipulated to prevent Benazirs reelection.

From 1983 to 1997, the ISI reportedly trained over 80,000 Afghan Mujahideen for campaigns in Afghanistan, but Pakistan suffered retribution for that. Afghan intelligence agents conducted a campaign of bombings and sabotage in Pakistani cities, and Soviet and Afghan forces staged assaults against the Mujahideen camps in Pakistan.

During the 1990s, the ISI grew into a powerful and questionable organization. It is said to function as an invisible government and is frequently called a state within a state. Successive administrations have apparently been unable to govern the ISI.

Since the start of the War on Terror in September 2001, President Musharraf has been under pressure to effect changes in the ISI. He appointed a new Director General, Lieutenant General Ehsanul Haq, he has banned five militant groups, and he has stopped ISI representatives from attending meetings of the United Jihad Council, an umbrella organization that includes about 12 militant groups. The President is thought to have more control over the ISI than any civilian president could have, because the agency is an extension of the military and Musharraf has held the highest military position in the land.

The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was founded in 1948 by Major General R. Cawthorne, a British army officer and Deputy Chief of Staff in the Army of Pakistan. In the 1950s, the purpose of the ISI was to