Pakistan

WikiLeaks: Pakistan raps move to defame ISI

ISI is being wrongfully defamed and is under exclusive control of the military says Rehman Malik.

Afp April 26, 2011

KARACHI: Pakistan on Tuesday angrily rejected leaked documents showing that US investigators considered its top spy agency a terror group, which could further strain relations between the wary allies.

A secret 2007 US list of "terrorist and terrorist support entities"a listed Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) alongside some 70 other groups including Iranian intelligence and the Taliban.

"The ISI is being wrongfully defamed internationally," Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters. While his ministry is responsible for the police and some paramilitary units, ISI is under exclusive control of the military.

"The ISI is not and has never been involved in politics," Malik said, before adding that the intelligence agency had served Pakistan "so tremendously".

"The ISI is a patriotic organisation which has a huge role in combatting terrorism. Those who are trying to bring the ISI into disrepute would never succeed in their design," he said.

Pakistan is a key ally of the United States against the Taliban but deep mistrust between the two countries' intelligence agencies was laid bare this week with the leaked documents released by anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.

The exposure of the private US assessment, on a memorandum from the controversial US camp for war prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, may cause new strains in the relationship between the United States and ISI which has worked closely with the CIA.

COMMENTS (20)

Moise | 13 years ago | Reply @let there be peace: Nazis were democratically elected, Hitler was Time man of the year. Rabbit hole goes much deeper than vague words evil.

Wallace | 13 years ago | Reply My golly wally! Governments lie!? All governments? How is this possible? CIA practices terrorism too. As do all "spy organizations," which are inherently illegal. I don't know why everyone is so shook up when governments lie about the illegal organizations they utilize and finance, it seems logical.

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zafar sikandar | 13 years ago | Reply the same ISI was not bad at all when they were active in afghanistan against russia because it was serving the american interests. Americans should be ashamed of themselves for treating us like that :(

let there be peace | 13 years ago | Reply I have no doubt that ISI is a very patriotic organization. But then Nazis were also patriotic. Fact is, in the eyes of sensible people, Nazi Germany was an evil empire built on evil ideology.

Moise | 13 years ago | Reply @MUNIB: Famous Qaida members living in US, UK & Yemen right now: Adam Gadahan Original name: Adam Pearlman Location: US Yusuf Al-Khattab from Revolution Islam group Original Name: Joseph Cohen Location: US NY Anwar Al-Awlaki CIA Agent, handles Qaida patsies Time square bomber, christmas bomber, Fort hood shooting Location: Yemen Haroon Rashid Aswat MI6 Agent, handle Qaida patsies London Bombing, UK refused to hand over to US for setting up Oregon Training Camp Location: UK You need rationale for huge military budgets. Create an enemy, stage a drama and get funding. This is how it works for centuries.

Srinath | 13 years ago | Reply Oh Patriotism, what crimes are committed under thy name!

enid | 13 years ago | Reply Wake up people, dont believe in the lies of US. Watch out what are they doing in the middle east, look what are they doing in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and now trying to attack Syria.

Hasan | 13 years ago | Reply ISI is a very pious organisation involved in tablighi jamaat like activities. No one should have any doubt on that.

\amin | 13 years ago | Reply What is the truth, who will tell this.

MUNIB | 13 years ago | Reply ISI not involved in politics ??? wow I was getting bored today and could find no better "refresher" than this one. Let me copy paste my statement from FACEBOOK in a similar discussion few days back: Lets list some of the most Recent-World's most (well known and unknown) wanted dead or alive terrorists and see whats common in them . . . OBL Qari Zafar Hakimullah Mehsud and BM Mullah Omar Khaled Sheikh Mohammad Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh Faisal Shehzad Aafia Siddiqui Hafiz Muhammad Saeed Ayman al-Zawahiri Maulana Masood Azhar Usman Punjabi Richard Reid Thats right its PAKISTAN and the links to Jehadi org or organizations which were working in Kashmir previously. Its interesting that the "pure land nation" is found behind every other terror activity but its so pure that its people cant see anything wrong with itself and its ISI. For how long can a nation behave like an ostrich ?

Mulla Toofhan | 13 years ago | Reply Good.... Mr. Malik made it clear. ISI is an entity on it's own and more powerful than the elected Govt of Pakistan. The role played by ISI is primely to safe guard it's own and Pakistan, No different then CIA or Mossad. The reason ISI is being targeted by the West and US as terrorist affliate is because the American and NATO countries have been boxed in in the war against terror and they are bleeding. Knowing that they cannot win this war they are trying to pin the blame on ISI and make ISI pay for their bungling.

B.R.Bajaj | 13 years ago | Reply Pakistan is and continues to be in the sate of denial, and, therefore, it shall never ever be able to solve its problems.The genisis of any meaningful solution is appreciation of facts and their redressal. If the pigeon closes its eyes, it only lands into the teeth of the cat and if it had realised that the cat was exisitning, it could have escaped by making some efforts in the right direction.The answer lies in attempting a solution and not escaping the problem.

Cautious | 13 years ago | Reply “The ISI is not and has never been involved in politics,” Does anyone really believe that statement?

dextor | 13 years ago | Reply Well Mr. Rehman Malik......lesson in this scenario is....Dont put your foot in filth...you will end up putting some stains on yourself.....and i am sure you would have not learnt anything out of it...

John | 13 years ago | Reply “The ISI is not and has never been involved in politics,” Malik said, before adding that the intelligence agency had served Pakistan “so tremendously”. Since he does not control the ISI, his ignorance is anticipated. ISI dragged PAK to the ground, and if PAK people rally behind it now, they will never regain their county back. People are supreme. All government institutions try to usurp the people in the name of national security and secrecy. The people of PAK only has look at their own domestic history before marching behind the ISI propaganda.

FactCheck | 13 years ago | Reply How do you reject an investigative finding? US clssifies ISI as Terrorist Organization and Pakistan rejects it. Can anyone elaborate on the logic or lack there off?

Babloo | 13 years ago | Reply Its for Pakistanis to judge what ISI/Army has done to Pakistan in last 60 years, good, bad or evel all in the name of so called 'supreme national interest'. But really whose interest have they served ?

Cautious | 13 years ago | Reply Perhaps it's time for Pakistan to quit blaming others for it's problems? Perhaps it's time for the Pakistani people to demand a better government?

TightDhoti | 13 years ago | Reply For one it doesnt seem as if Rehman Malik is the one who said that the ISI is under exclusive control of the military. And this is just a blatant lie: “The ISI is not and has never been involved in politics,”. And what does ISI is a patriotic organization? Can we please shut down the unpatrioitc ones!

Roflcopter | 13 years ago | Reply I never thought i'd say this but i agree with rehman malik

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