Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif. PHOTO: FILE
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif on Wednesday visited the headquarters of the country’s top spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), to get an in-depth briefing on security matters.
This was General Raheel’s first visit to the ISI head office in the capital since he assumed the charge of what is considered one of the most powerful institutions in the country.
Upon his arrival at the agency’s headquarters, the army chief was received by Director General (DG) ISI Lt General Zaheerul Islam.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the newly appointed Army chief was briefed on ‘security matters.’ However, the official release did not provide any details.
Nevertheless, sources told The Express Tribune that the briefing given by the DG ISI and other senior officials covered the ‘entire gamut’ of issues concerning internal and external security situation.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior military official said the army chief was briefed about the ongoing intelligence operations, particularly in the tribal areas.
The army chief was told about the current security situation in the tribal areas and activities of outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). It was believed that during the briefing the prospects of peace talks with TTP also came under discussion.
During the visit, General Raheel was informed that the TTP appears to be under pressure following the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud.
ISI officials also took note of recent reports of Mullah Fazlullah, the new head of the TTP returning to tribal areas. “It seems the TTP is trying to keep up the morale of its foot soldiers by propagating that Fazlullah is back,” the official said, adding that the TTP chief was believed to be still hiding in Afghanistan.
Lauding the agency’s achievements, General Raheel highlighted the importance of ISI as a ‘strategic institution’ which has been working to protect Pakistan’s interests.
Furthermore, the ISI officials also briefed the army chief about the current security situation in Karachi and the intelligence input being provided to the law enforcement agencies against the miscreants.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 5th, 2013.
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He is the army chief and gone an office that reports to him - what's the big deal!