The clout of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) reached new proportions last week with the Shehbaz Sharif government empowering the spy agency to conduct verification of all government officers before their induction, appointments and postings, as well as promotions.
The Sharif government issued a notification on Friday to give the status of a Special Vetting Agency (SVA) to the ISI. The decision angered not just the allies but also his own Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
According to officials, since the government has given legal effect to reports issued by the ISI, these could henceforth be used in courts as valid legal documents. This essentially means that Pakistan’s bureaucracy has to work under ISI’s watch. The spy agency now has complete power and authority to counter any bureaucrat, giving it unprecedented access to the executive.
Some members belonging to the ruling and allied parties even criticised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for not taking the coalition partners and parliament into confidence, vowing to take the matter to the court, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.
PML-N leader and former information minister Pervaiz Rasheed said on Twitter that if the ISI was being tasked with vetting civilian officials, then the spy agency should be placed under civilian control and be answerable to parliament.
Former Senate chairman and PPP leader Raza Rabbani termed the decision “surprising”, saying it amounted to “ceding civilian space”.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) General-Secretary Farhatullah Babar asked why the decision was taken as it is not a single-party government. “This has been done behind the back of coalition partners and parliament.”
In a tweet, Babar said that the decision must be unacceptable to many coalition partners, and they must protest to reverse it, adding that unilateral alteration in civil service rules must be challenged. Babar noted that the agency that failed to detect Osama bin Laden hiding in Abbottabad has been tasked with reporting on the competence and professionalism of civil servants. He urged everyone to say no to the decision as it was “unacceptable”.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also expressed concern over the government’s decision. “Even if this practice was already in place, it goes against democratic norms. The role of the military in civilian affairs needs to recede if Pakistan is to move forward as a democracy,” it stated.
The opposition also questioned the move, with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf: leaders Fawad Chaudhry voicing his concerns over the matter. Fawad said that if “institutions wanted to increase their role in civilian affairs, then they would have to pay for it in the form of public accountability”.
“The institution (ISI) has to think about what role it wants to play in Pakistan’s politics. A discussion is needed on the new roles of civil institutions and institutions after the media revolution,” he added.
With agency inputs
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