Reform of Pakistan's spy agency crucial

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By Jason Motlagh

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan | The fate of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan and of stability in this neighboring country may depend to a great extent on efforts to reform Pakistan's controversial spy agency, known in the past for "hunting with the hounds and running with the hares."

U.S. officials have long criticized Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for a dual policy of cracking down on Islamist militancy while supporting militant groups in Afghanistan and Kashmir and allowing al Qaeda and the Taliban to maintain sanctuaries in tribal areas along the Afghan-Pakistani border.

Some U.S. intelligence officials have charged that the ISI was behind the July bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, which killed 58 people and wounded 141. A failed attempt by Pakistan's new civilian government to bring the agency under the authority of the Interior Ministry later that month is cited as another sign of the agency's intransigence.

However, some analysts say the ISI's reputation as a rogue operation has been exaggerated. They also point to a recent shakeup of the military command aimed at bringing greater central control and transparency to institutions pivotal to the stability of Pakistan and its neighbors.

"The military leadership has come to realize that it needs to revive its public image, which has been severely damaged by its hand in politics and policies in the tribal areas," said Khalid Rahman, director general of the Institute of Policy Studies in Islamabad. "They are looking to the government for guidance."

The new head of the ISI, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, replaces Lt. Gen. Nadeem Taj, a close ally of Pakistan's former president, Pervez Musharraf, and a man whom U.S. officials claim was "double-dealing" with Taliban militants.

According to analyst and retired Gen. Mahmood Shah, of 21 generals in the military command, 14 have been denied promotion or "superseded." Most were Musharraf appointees.

The seven who were promoted are "known for their professional capabilities, not any political alignment," Gen. Shah said.

Ironically, the shift was in a sense initiated by Mr. Musharraf, who last fall appointed Gen. Ashfaq Kayani chief of army staff, long considered the most powerful office in the nuclear-armed country.

Gen. Kayani, who headed the ISI from 2004 until 2007, is the first ISI director to assume the top military post.