It is a fact that ISI has been accused by India of supporting militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir for many years. The US, which has had very close relations with ISI, on the other hand, never accused it openly and did not take sides with India. But that does not mean that the US trusts ISI. In fact, the US has for some time suspected that some elements of ISI were supporting the Taliban but did not voice it openly.However, this state of affairs has changed recently, with the US alleging through the American media that some of ISI's members support Taliban militants and helped plan the deadly July 7 suicide bombing of India's embassy, which was flatly denied by Pakistan. Furthermore, American officials started asking the Pakistanis the important question of "Who controls ISI?" In fact, it was none other than President Bush who first angrily asked visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Raza Gilani last week "Who is in control of ISI?"
This question and the ensuing confrontation have been acknowledged both by American and Pakistani officials. Pakistan's defense minister, Ahmed Muktar, told a Pakistani television network last Wednesday that President Bush asked the question as well as inquired about leaked information that tipped militants off to surveillance efforts by Western intelligence services.
In an interview last Friday Pakistan's ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, hinted that there are problems between the US and his government as regards ISI and said the civilian government would investigate any ISI officers who might be in league with militants, and also laid the blame for the problems on President Musharraf, who was firmly in power until elections earlier this year.
''Several outstanding problems in the relationship between the US and Pakistan that the elected government inherited from the past are currently being resolved. These include issues of trust between our two intelligence services," he said.
Under pressure both for domestic and foreign reasons the government has recently decided to take control of ISI. Late last month the government issued a decree putting ISI and its civilian cousin, the Intelligence Bureau, under the purview of the Interior Ministry. The government backtracked a day later by saying the decision had been ''misinterpreted.'' Without withdrawing the decree, it said a new, more detailed, one would follow. Late on Aug. 5 it issued a statement saying the July 26 decree was now held in ''abeyance,'' pending consultations with various branches of Pakistan's intelligence network. ''The prime minister is pleased to direct that the federal government will carry out further deliberations on coordinating the intelligence efforts,'' the statement said.
This flip-flop has, of course, undermined the government's standing and authority. Furthermore, the government's decision to initiate the impeachment of President Musharraf complicated matters even more because of the strong possibility that the army would eventually be drawn into the matter.
In this context, it is worth remembering that Musharraf promoted his loyal friend Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, who had been head of ISI, to the post of army chief. The current ISI chief, Lt. Gen. Nadeem Taj, was also chosen by Musharraf. As a result, it is expected that both men will support Musharraf and resist efforts to give control of ISI to the civilians. But, of course, the opposite could also happen, depending upon later developments.
In short the battle for control of ISI has begun in Pakistan, long overdue and watched carefully by the US, Afghanistan and India. The outcome will, of course, affect both the domestic and external balances of power, to say the least.
