New civilian spy chief appointed

PM Gilani appoints Aftab Sultan as director-general of Intelligence Bureau.

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Saturday appointed Aftab Sultan as director-general of the Intelligence Bureau – a key civilian domestic spy agency responsible for counter-intelligence and national security.

Before his new assignment, Aftab Sultan – who is replacing Javed Noor – was serving as additional inspector-general of the Punjab police. He has also worked in the Special Branch for eight years, and was in charge of the team that had investigated the multi-billion-rupee Punjab Bank scam.

Sultan’s name was picked from a list of three senior police officials – the two others being Javed Iqbal, IG Punjab police, and Rao Amin Hashim, IG Balochistan police.

Before the creation of the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, the premier military spy agency, IB was Pakistan’s main agency, which was responsible for strategic and foreign intelligence, as well as counter-espionage and domestic affairs. Its mandate was later restricted to domestic affairs.

The appointment of the IB chief has always been closely monitored, especially by political circles, because the agency has allegedly been used in the past for the making and breaking of political alliances.

Political circles and IB officials have welcomed Sultan’s appointment.

A source at the prime minister’s office said that Sultan was also a strong contender for the office of IG Punjab police following the retirement of Tariq Saleem Dogar. But his name was later dropped.

The IB source said that, during the regime of former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf, IB was weakened by clipping its powers. However, following the restoration of democracy, heads of the agency were appointed on the basis of their political leanings, he added.

Sources said that some politicians from the ruling PPP and other political parties had complained about the poor performance of IB. And that is why the prime minister reviewed his decision of appointing Wajid Ali Durrani. Durrani has been posted as IG National Highways and Motorways police.

The premier also approved the appointment of Prof Dr Mudassir Asrar as chairperson of the Pakistan Council for Science and Technology (PCST). Dr Asrar hails from Balochistan and is currently working as Dean of Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Balochistan, Quetta. (With additional reporting by Irfan Ghauri)

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2011.