10-03-2006, 11:29 PM
<b>ISI: in the firing line </b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Asked on NBC's Meet The Press programme if the ISI was helping to prop up the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, President Musharraf asserted it was not, but said he was investigating the possibility that some retired ISI personnel could be involved.<b> "I have some reports that some dissidents, some people, retired people who were in the forefront in the ISI during the period of `79 to 89' may be assisting with their links somewhere here and there," he said. "We are keeping a very tight watch and we'll get a hold of them if at all that happens."</b>
<b>The remarks have created a stir in Pakistan. One retired ISI official said it had caused "unnecessary commotion." </b>
"I think he is imagining a lot of things," said Lt. General (retd.) Hamid Gul, who served as head of the ISI during a part of the period mentioned by President Musharraf, and is a strong critic of the regime. "As retired officers, we have very little space for manoeuvre, we have to stand in a queue even to deposit our electricity bills, where is the question of assisting the Taliban?"
Comparing the ISI to the secretive Freemasons, Gen. Gul said "once you leave, you are out, you don't know what's going on inside."
According to him, the organisation is so tightly controlled that it is impossible for retired officials to maintain any "links" within the organisation. "I think the pressure is on [President Musharraf], and he should be able to take it. Instead, he is trying to parry the blows. But I must say it is a very shoddy way of doing it," said the former ISI chief. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Gen. Gul said that while he disagreed with the Indian allegations, those pointing at the ISI were actually pointing at General Musharraf.
<b>"The ISI is an extension of the military establishment. If something is being done, it cannot be done without the knowledge of the government. All this sniping, it is not aimed at the horse, but on the man riding the horse. They do not want to say directly that they doubt the President, so they are pointing fingers at the ISI," said Gen. Gul. </b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Asked on NBC's Meet The Press programme if the ISI was helping to prop up the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, President Musharraf asserted it was not, but said he was investigating the possibility that some retired ISI personnel could be involved.<b> "I have some reports that some dissidents, some people, retired people who were in the forefront in the ISI during the period of `79 to 89' may be assisting with their links somewhere here and there," he said. "We are keeping a very tight watch and we'll get a hold of them if at all that happens."</b>
<b>The remarks have created a stir in Pakistan. One retired ISI official said it had caused "unnecessary commotion." </b>
"I think he is imagining a lot of things," said Lt. General (retd.) Hamid Gul, who served as head of the ISI during a part of the period mentioned by President Musharraf, and is a strong critic of the regime. "As retired officers, we have very little space for manoeuvre, we have to stand in a queue even to deposit our electricity bills, where is the question of assisting the Taliban?"
Comparing the ISI to the secretive Freemasons, Gen. Gul said "once you leave, you are out, you don't know what's going on inside."
According to him, the organisation is so tightly controlled that it is impossible for retired officials to maintain any "links" within the organisation. "I think the pressure is on [President Musharraf], and he should be able to take it. Instead, he is trying to parry the blows. But I must say it is a very shoddy way of doing it," said the former ISI chief. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Gen. Gul said that while he disagreed with the Indian allegations, those pointing at the ISI were actually pointing at General Musharraf.
<b>"The ISI is an extension of the military establishment. If something is being done, it cannot be done without the knowledge of the government. All this sniping, it is not aimed at the horse, but on the man riding the horse. They do not want to say directly that they doubt the President, so they are pointing fingers at the ISI," said Gen. Gul. </b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->