Rift deepens between Pak army and ISI after string of intelligence failures

New Delhi, Oct 15 (IANS) Pakistan’s ISI, which was once considered to be one of the most dangerous and effective spy agencies in the world, now seems to be crumbling. The ISI has missed information on multiple fronts, which has led to lethal and embarrassing attacks on the security forces, especially the Pakistan army.

The army in particular is miffed with the ISI as it failed to provide Intelligence on the attacks by the Afghan Taliban, the Tehreek-e-Taliban, Pakistan (TTP), and also Operation Sindoor. The army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, is reportedly miffed with the Intelligence agencies after the Afghan Taliban carried out a series of successful attacks on Pakistan military posts.

The Taliban claimed that it had killed 58 Pakistani soldiers and injured many more. Indian officials say that the series of embarrassing incidents has prompted the establishment to undertake a major reshuffle in the ISI.

The Taliban and TTP were once assets of the ISI. Today, they are sworn enemies, and to get beaten down by what was literally nurtured by the ISI is nothing short of embarrassing, officials say.

There are also signs of a divide within the ranks, and this has led to the lack of coordination in the spy agency. Many officials have not been transferred in nearly three years and want to continue to remain in their comfort zone. This has set in a lethargy as a result of which the network is failing miserably.

Another failure of the ISI is the protest by the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). The TLP and ISI shared a good rapport, and the agency would use the outfit to put pressure on the democratically elected government. The ISI played the TLP against both Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan, and both ended up losing their chair.

Today, the TLP is up in arms against the establishment, and this signals a major failure by the ISI. Further on the Kashmir front, too, the ISI seems to be losing the battle. Operation Sindoor clearly caught the Pakistan establishment napping. What Indian Intelligence agencies believe is that the failure in Intelligence is largely due to too much interference by the army, the lack of coordination, and infighting.

With Field Marshal Munir at the helm, he is now allowing the ISI to function independently. He takes a call on everything from functioning to appointments. This has led to a lot of resentment among the ranks. This led to Munir convening a meeting at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. Top officials from both the army and ISI were present at the meeting, which was convened to take stock of the situation following the successful attacks on Pakistan’s military posts by the Afghan Taliban.

Munir conveyed his displeasure at the high-level meeting and warned the officials against any further laxity. He also sought a detailed response on why the Intelligence is failing repeatedly. Field Marshal Munir also pulled up his own officials for lack of planning against the Afghan Taliban. He said that it was the clear lack of strategy that led to the embarrassment against the Taliban.

He also told the generals and officials to rework their strategy with the Taliban, which has been embarrassing Pakistan repeatedly. The fact that Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said in New Delhi that Kashmir is an integral part of India has also not gone down well with the army chief. He sought urgent re-strategising where the Taliban is concerned.

Munir also issued an ultimatum to both the ISI and army officials to set the system straight. Officials in India say that on one hand, Munir has been tom-tomming about the newfound bonhomie with the US, while on the other hand, the situation for him is nothing short of embarrassing back home.

–IANS

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