Pakistan govt's decision gives ISI sweeping powers to snoop on citizens

The ISI has more officers than any corps of the Pakistan Army.

Rawalpindi, and not Islamabad, it is often said, calls the shots in Pakistan. Which means that it is Pakistan army chief, General Asim Munir, sitting in Army HQ in Rawalpindi, who is the real decision-maker, when it comes to India (particularly Jammu and Kashmir) and foreign policy and all national security issues.

A Pakistan government's decision on July 8 gives the Army, or rather, its intelligence wing-- the ISI or Inter-Service Intelligence-- more powers to interfere in the lives of its citizens. The sweeping powers come from a decision on 8 July of the Pakistan government to authorise all ISI officers (close to 100) above the rank of Grade 18 (major and above) to trace any calls and messages through any telecom system in Pakistan. This means that under the reworked Section 54 of the Pakistan Telecom (Reorganisation) Act of 1996, a large number of officers, including those relatively junior and young--like majors and lieutenant colonels-- will have the authority of bug telephones and look at emails of the people of a whole country of about 200 million people.

The ISI is a large outfit. Under its director-general, lieutenant general Naveed Anjum, it has more officers than any corps of the Pakistan Army. It has a vast amount of resources, some of which is used to recruit, train and arm terrorists, before pushing them across the line of control. Of course, it can be argued that the ISI would be doing this in any case and the recent government directive merely legitimises the process.

No Pakistan prime minister has completed his term in office, including Nawaz Sharif, the brother of current prime minister Shehbaz Sharif. Even the previous PM, Imran Khan, once seen as the Pakistan army's candidate, was unseated before his terms. Only, the army doesn't directly take over the reins of government as it did in the past. The last coup was by General Pervez Musharraf. in 1999, over two decades ago, when he ousted Nawaz Sharif.