PM tasks ISI to vet govt officers

The government on Friday granted status of a Special Vetting Agency (SVA) to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), empowering it to complete verification and screening of all government officers for induction, important posting/appointments and promotions.

The Establishment Division’s notification stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has notified the spy agency as SVA for verification and mandated it to do screening of all public office holders.

“The prime minister is pleased to notify the Directorate General ISI as SVA for verification and screening of all public office holders (officers’ category) for induction, important posting/appointments and promotions,” the official notification issued after the premier’s approval read.

Sources revealed that the decision was taken in a recent federal cabinet meeting but was kept hidden, adding that the ISI had already started working and sought data of government officers and their families from the departments concerned.

With the special status and powers, they said, the spy agency would keep an eye on the moral and financial affairs of the government officers and would submit details to the promotion boards, especially the high-powered board and Central Selection Board (CSB).

Previously, they maintained, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) was performing the vetting process and it had now been replaced by the ISI. Earlier, they said, the ISI was tasked with vetting the cases of officials before they were posted abroad, adding that they would now “have more influence over bureaucracy” as every appointment, posting and promotion would go through them.

Some government officers said that the government’s move surprised many as several parties in the coalition government used to oppose the interference of intelligence agencies in government’s affairs before coming to power. However after coming to power, they said, they had done exactly the opposite and, in fact, helped enhancing the spy agency’s control over bureaucracy and government’s affairs.

Some other bureaucrats, however, took the decision lightly as they believe the ISI would do what the IB was previously doing and there won’t be much difference. They said that the government officers had already served while being constantly monitored by NAB, adding that the pressure would be there but this would also become a routine thing after some time.

Read more: SC stops transfers in high-profile cases

Before Prime Minister Shehbaz, former premier Imran Khan had also surprised the nation when he had revealed during a live ‘Ehsaas Telethon’ that the government was using the ISI technology to trace the suspected Covid-19 patients in the country.

“The government is using a system, which was originally designed to trace terrorists, to find the suspected coronavirus cases,” Imran said during a live programme held to generate funds to mitigate the impact of the virus-induced lockdown.

The governments had long been using the intelligence as well as investigation agencies to complete the verification process of different government tasks and projects.

While describing the Ehsaas Telethon, Imran had revealed back in 2020 that the government took 10 months to make the database for the programme, saying the police as well as the Federal Investigation Agency officials would not only vet the beneficiaries but also ensure transparency.

Surprising as it may seem, the decision to give powers to the ISI came days after the Supreme Court restrained the executive authorities from transfers, postings and removal of officials involved in the investigation or prosecution of high-profile corruption cases against top government functionaries, especially PM Shehbaz and his son Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz.

A five-judge larger bench, headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, had issued the verdict while hearing a suo motu case regarding the alleged government interference in the affairs of prosecution as well as investigation branches in high-profile cases.