Origins and Evolution of the ISI

More than a decade after its publication, Hein G. Kiessling’s book, Faith, Unity, Discipline: The Inter-Service-Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan, has remained in the shadows in Pakistan, away from Pakistan’s academia and digital media. It may be largely due to fear of institutional action or curbs on the media to avoid discussion of such a sensitive institution’s history. Reading through Kiessling’s book is an interesting experience for a reader who is connected with the ongoing currents in Pakistani politics. 

The book delves deep into the organization’s history during different decades, where it not only played a key role in national security but also in domestic politics. While many authors and politicians allege that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has increased its footprint in current politics due to the continuous whacking of the military by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan (who is serving a jail sentence), much of this goes back to its history. The ISI did not emerge from proper planning but was a product of the environment after the partition of India.

Founded by Australian Major General Walter Joseph Cawthorne, the initial structure of the ISI was not very complex, having very little role in politics or national security early on. The war in Kashmir and threats from India gave impetus for the creation of a prime intelligence agency that could help provide accurate information about threats coming from neighbors. Despite widespread claims that the ISI borrowed its organizational model from foreign intelligence agencies such as Iran’s SAVAK or the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), historical evidence suggests otherwise. In reality, most modern intelligence agencies, including the ISI, SAVAK, and the CIA, emerged in the mid-twentieth century in response to the changing nature of warfare and geopolitics. They developed largely in parallel, adapting to their respective national contexts. 

During the initial years, the ISI remained unimportant to the nascent government. Not much consideration was given to important appointments, as brigadiers remained at the apex of the intelligence cadres until 1966. One notable exception in the early leadership pattern of Pakistan’s ISI also occurred between May 1951 and April 1953, when the organization was headed by a colonel. At the time of its establishment, the agency’s primary mandate was external intelligence collection, particularly focused on reconnaissance activities beyond Pakistan’s borders, with special emphasis on India and the disputed territory of Kashmir.

Rise as a Strategic Intelligence Power

In addition to intelligence gathering, the ISI was entrusted with the planning, coordination, and operational management of Pakistan’s first military attachés appointed to foreign missions. Internally,........

© Paradigm Shift