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EDITORIAL: ISI in the crossfire Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has felt compelled to bat repeatedly in defence of the ISI in recent days. On Wednesday, he had to mount his third defence of the premier intelligence agency in the National Assembly in response to Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali's continued hammering of the issue. The redoubtable Chaudhry has kept up his tirade over the last few days against the government for its alleged apathy on several issues, in particular the ISI, drone attacks and the Raymond Davis affair. Chaudhry Nisar demanded answers why the ISI chief's recent visit to Washington was cut short to one day instead of the scheduled three, and whether this had contributed to the recent low ebb in ISI-CIA relations and the refusal by the CIA to halt drone attacks. The opposition leader claimed he had substantial evidence regarding the Davis case and who had facilitated his release. Stating that he was ready to share the evidence, he qualified it by saying he would not share it with the government but with the house, either in open session or in-camera. He ended by asking the government to summon officials of the country's intelligence agencies in a session of parliament and ask them to clear their position in the Davis issue. The prime minister, for the third time in as many days, reiterated his by now well known tune. He asserted that the ISI was under the control of the government, reports to the government, does nothing without the government's knowledge or against the national interest, and has never ventured into any 'project' without proper governmental authorisation. In other words, and in short, the ISI was under the government's instructions. The prime minister repeated these arguments in a public rally near Islamabad the same day. On the Davis affair, the prime minister stated in the house the usual argument about the case having been decided by an independent court, with no role played by the federal or provincial government. After this ringing endorsement, lest we are lulled into a soporific confidence in everything being under the government's total control, including the ISI, it may be useful to contemplate that in our history, rightly or wrongly, the ISI has acquired an unenviable reputation for straying beyond its mandate. Not only does this charge hinge on what critics allege is the ISI's manipulation of national politics in the interests of the military establishment's (permanent) agenda, the ISI has also figured centre-stage whenever the question of Afghanistan or domestic terrorism comes up. It may be argued that not all this notoriety is deserved, but the fact remains that inside the country, the region, and the world at large, the ISI has become too prominent for an intelligence agency expected to operate 'quietly'. A parallel example may be culled from US history in the last gasps of the twentieth century, when the infamous CIA lost its sheen and was finally shackled by new oversight procedures to avoid illegal activities. We in Pakistan may not be at the stage of the kind of 'glasnost and perestroika' that struck the CIA in the post-Vietnam war period, but it would arguably be in the best interests of all state stakeholders to put their heads together and refigure, if not curtail, the ISI's political role (acquired incrementally since Zulfikar Ali Bhutto set up the first political cell in the ISI in the 1970s) and return it to its original mandate: an internal services intelligence arm organised on highly professional lines and freed of the burden and accompanying calumny of being accused of interference in politics, internal and international. * SECOND EDITORIAL: Trading off The fact that the India-Pakistan dialogue has resurfaced on a strong footing after the uncertainty of the recent past is a comforting development. Now that the secretaries of commerce from both countries have met in Islamabad, it is hoped that the only way to go for mutually beneficial economic and trade progress is up. These first trade talks since 2008 have the potential of introducing a new era of liberalisation of trade between the two countries, boosting trade to a potential $ 6.5 billion from its present level of just above $ 1.5 billion. The two sides have agreed to open up branches of private banks in each other's countries, resurrect the goods train agreement whereby a specific number of freight trains from and to both countries would be run, increase business visas, open more trade routes besides the one at Wagah - where a feeble amount of trade occurs via the age-old system of coolies - and promote intra-Kashmir trade through the Line of Control. However, the most promising development at this meeting was the reiteration by both delegations that non-tariff barriers ought to be removed to make such bilateral cooperation successful. Non-tariff barriers are usually non-economic political in origin, unlike tariff barriers such as duties, etc. One major non-tariff barrier has been the unwillingness of Pakistan to reciprocate India's Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status, accorded to Pakistan by India since 1994. Pakistan has been holding back for political reasons such as the Kashmir issue, amongst others. However, the dynamics of quid pro quo seem to be at work here as Islamabad has asked India to halt its opposition to Pakistan gaining increased access to the EU's markets in discussions at the WTO. Apart from enhanced trade, investment, whether as joint ventures or opening up to each other's entrepreneurs, needs to be encouraged to mutual benefit. But for that, trust must be strengthened between these two sometimes caustic neighbours. Politics has been restricting trade for too long. No matter what the different lobbies in Pakistan say, from holding back on Kashmir to the fear of Indian goods swamping our markets, trade needs to be strengthened and mutual economic opportunities explored. It is hoped these talks will lead to all this and more. * <http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011%5C04%5C29%5Cstory_29-4-2 011_pg3_1> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, discuss-os...@yahoogroups.com. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor biso...@intellnet.org http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: osint-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Unsubscribe: osint-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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