Is Pakistan Losing Patience

[Vassnti]

Though people may not always agree with Bob Baer his experience at least makes an article like this worth reading.

On Saturday, in answer to a New York Times article, Pakistan's secretive spy agency denied that it had exposed the identity of a senior CIA official in Pakistan, causing him to abruptly leave Pakistan. In a briefing held on background, an official of the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) couldn't have made it more categorical: "We absolutely deny this accusation, which is totally unsubstantiated and based on conjecture."

Short of a smoking gun, we'll have to take the Pakistanis' word for it. CIA cover is never perfect, and this wouldn't be the first time that a CIA officer has been forced to leave his post in the middle of the night.

But what can't be dismissed is the suit filed by a Pakistani tribesman in which he accuses the CIA of murdering his brother and his son in a drone attack. According to press reports, none of which have been confirmed by the CIA, it was the appearance of the station chief's name in a filing in this suit, along with unspecified threats, that caused him to be pulled. Regardless, the suit itself could be an ominous sign that the Pakistanis may be coming to the end of their rope in the "war on terror."

Here's why: I have long known that the ISI oversees the judiciary, from the appointment of judges to interfering in cases that harm national security. There are no exceptions. If there were a Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, he'd be behind bars — for life. In other words, it's all but certain that the ISI greenlit the case brought by the tribesman for the death of his brother and son.

The ISI's power in the judiciary hit home for me two years ago. My wife and I were winding our way through the Pakistani court system as part of an adoption. I wondered right from the beginning how often ex-CIA agents had appeared before Pakistan's notoriously conservative judiciary - and what the government would think about us, or if it might even block the adoption. Every lawyer I talked to assured me that the government - the ISI - wouldn't care about a civil case. When I asked whether the ISI intervened in cases touching national security, they only smiled.

In trying to figure out what's happening in Pakistan these days let's not fool ourselves. The ISI is not a rogue agency that does exactly what it wants. It falls squarely under Pakistan's military. The commander and chief controls the budget as well as personnel appointments. At any time, he can remove the ISI's director. And since Pakistan's military is the ultimate executive authority in the country, it would be safe to conclude Pakistan itself permitted the suit against the CIA.

Read more: Is Pakistan Losing Patience in the War on Terror? - TIME

 

[Majnun]

Well the US should be in the process of damage control as far as Pakistan is concerned. First and foremost, the drone attacks must stop, the US must stop violating Pakistan's sovereignty. Their mantra of "do more, do more" may only be words, it would of course be preferable if it was stopped or lessened. What the United States and the CIA must realize is that they have pushed Pakistan, continually pushed Pakistan. We've been bending over backwards for a long time to satisfy US demands and a time will come when either our back will break, or we will snap back with a vengeance. Both scenarios spell disaster for the United States in the region. They may not care about Pakistan, but what happens to Pakistan will directly affect them in a huge way. Now is the time to ease the pressure, stop pushing Pakistan and try and find a way to actually win public support in Pakistan. Its not going to be as difficult as they may think, if they start now.

 

[kidwaibhai]

I dont think that the ISI controls the Judiciary because if it did Musharraf would still be in power. The Judiciary is completely independent and it is giving the ISI a lot of head aches specially about the missing persons cases.