The Dawn of Karachi reported on February 25, that the government of Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani has reportedly decided against extending the tenure of Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, who has been the Director General of the Inter Services Intelligence Directorate since October,2008, says security expert B Raman.
Apparently upset with their remarks over alleged link between Inter Services Intelligence, Taliban and Al-Qaeda, the Pakistani spy agency chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha refused to meet visiting US Special Representative Richard Holbrooke and American military commander Admiral Mike Mullen.
Pakistan is abuzz with rumours that the country's all-powerful military may topple the fragile government in Islamabad within next 48 hours.
The report regarding Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani extending the tenure of Inter-Services Intelligence Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha by a year clearly suggests that nothing much has changed in the country and the two still rule the roost, says an article in the New York Times.While experts believe that Kayani's move may also pave the way for his own extension in service, the 'weak' civilian set-up in Pakistan has no other choice.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi would co-chair the first US-Pak Strategic Dialogue to be held in Washington on March 24.
Pakistani diplomats are engaged in behind-the-scenes diplomacy in a bid to stop United States President Barack Obama's administration from supporting a lawsuit filed against Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha in a US court by relatives of two Jewish-American victims of the Mumbai terror attacks.
Pakistan has informed the United States that it will be forced to retaliate if American forces attempt to launch a unilateral strike on the country's tribal belt that the US has said is a safe haven for Taliban elements, according to a media report.
"How can you have a strategic dialogue without including the military," Special US Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke told reporters at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department.
Pakistan on Saturday did an about turn on sending the Inter-Services Intelligence chief to India, in connection with the probe into the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, saying a representative of the spy agency would be sent instead of him.The decision was made at a late night meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the chief of the powerful army. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also joined the meeting.
While Asim Malik's role in Pakistan's recent warming up of relations with the US is acknowledged, army watchers note a recent distancing, what with Asim Munir not wanting his DG, ISI to share the limelight during his subsequent sojourns to Tampa and Brussels, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha on Tuesday left for the United States in a bid to revive security ties affected by recent events, including the suspension of USD 800 million of military aid to Pakistan.
Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency has categorically denied any links with the Taliban.The Daily Times quoted ISI Director General Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha as saying that the ISI is a professional agency and does not have links with any militant outfit, including the Taliban. Pasha's remarks came during a meeting with Central Intelligence Agency chief Leon Panetta, National Security Adviser Lieutenant General James Jones and other officials.
The new chiefs of the Inter Services Intelligence and Pakistan Air Force on Monday assumed office, a day ahead of a crucial parliamentary session that will determine the contours of future relations with the United States. Lieutenant General Zahir-ul-Islam went to the ISI headquarters at Aabpara Islamabad to take charge as the new director general of the powerful spy agency.
Amid intense US pressure to deliver on the war on terror, the chief of Pakistan's powerful Inter Services Intelligence has been shunted out of Islamabad and replaced by Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, considered close to the reform-minded Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
But the ISI chief did not retire giving the impression that he has won General Asim Munir's trust, notes Rana Banerji who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Jamaat-ud Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed has moved the Lahore high court seeking direction for the Pakistan government to defend him, Inter Services Intelligence officians and others before a United States court, which has issued summons to them in connection with the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Zahir-ul-Islam's appointment as the chief of the intelligence agency was the outcome of a consensus between the political and military leadership of Pakistan, says B Raman
Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has approved an extension to lieutenant general ahmad shuja Pasha as director general of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence for a period of one year.The decision to retain general Pasha in uniform and as ISI DG was taken because of his commendable role in the ongoing war against terrorism, The News quoted a well-placed defence source, as saying.
High Commissioner Sabharwal and the ISI DG were tight-lipped about the developments. When this scribe told Lt Gen Pasha that Pakistan was doing a lot to improve relations with India but the response from India was not very encouraging, he said, "Let's hope for the best, things will definitely improve."
Inter-Services Intelligence head Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, a close aide of Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, is heading for a likely rare second term.
Insiders say that General Kayani's decision to extend Pasha's service has been made to ensure the continuity of the army's offensive against extremists in the troubled tribal regions of the country.
Pakistani military leaders, including army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, were surprised to know that Osama bin Laden was hiding in their country when they were told about the American raid that killed the dreaded terrorist, according to an analysis of conversations conducted by the United States intelligence.
The Memogate scandal in Pakistan has taken a turn for the worse, with the central character in the controversy Manzoor Ijaz's refusal to appear before the judicial commission investigating the issue. Amir Mir reports from Islamabad.
A Pakistani court has admitted a petition seeking to block any attempt by the government to sack army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter Services Intelligence chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha over the memo scandal. The petition filed by lawyer Maulvi Iqbal Haider was accepted by the Islamabad high court on Wednesday. Haider asked the court to restrain the president and prime minister from taking any action against the army and ISI chiefs.
Amid India's suspicions of the involvement of the Inter Services Intelligence in the planning of Mumbai terror strikes, the chief of the Pakistani spy agency on Friday called on Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Islamabad.The Director General of the ISI, Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, met Gilani and briefed him on the prevailing security situation, an official statement said.No further details about the meeting were available.
The deteriorating regional security environment and the rising tide of Islamist radicalism in Pakistan might just force Beijing to change its course towards India, says Harsh V Pant.
Asim Malik's shift to the important DG, ISI post comes as something of a surprise now, but it indicates the army chief's confidence in him, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
When then ISI director Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha visited Washington, DC for a meeting with CIA Director Michael Hayden, he admitted that the planners of the Mumbai attacks included some 'retired Pakistani officers' and that the attackers had 'ISI links, but this had not been an authorised ISI operation.'
These are obviously not 'organic' desertions but brought about under intense military pressure, post the 9/5 arrests. It seemed as if the party was being dismantled the same way it was brought into power!, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W, India's external intelligence agency.
His disqualification to participate in future elections may follow, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W, India's external intelligence agency.
General Asad Durrani's disclosures could leave considerable egg on the face of those currently wielding the stick in Pakistan, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
The question really is whether the US can be persuaded to embark on a path of calibrated and stronger sanctions on Pakistan.
'Over the last year, Bajwa has created the environment to support bold moves on India. The ball is in India's court,' a senior Pakistan military officer tells Ajai Shukla.
'We will have to wait till the snows melt in June/July 2016 before we can get a clearer idea of whether Pakistan intends to get serious about ending support for cross-border terrorism,' says G Parthasarathy, India's former high commissioner to Pakistan.
'A close look at the time-lines tells you that exactly as the back-channel negotiations were in their most crucial stage, "somebody" was planning the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai,' says Shekhar Gupta questioning Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri's account of a peace deal with India.
