ISLAMABAD: Gen. Jehangir Karamat, former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of the Pakistan
army, said that to transform from a national security state to a social welfare state, Pakistan will have to increase the number of stakeholders in the power sharing
arrangement by devolving powers to the lower levels as well as among institutions. He
was the main speaker at a roundtable on “South Asian States turning into Security
States and its Larger Implications” organized by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) here on Wednesday. Gen. (Retd.) Karamat defined national security state as a state with inordinate resource allocation towards defense at the cost of social welfare, and said that India was gradually moving away from being a national security state on that account. Pakistan, on the other hand, according to Gen. (Retd.) Karamat, is still quite defense-oriented and, thus, rooted in the national security paradigm. He attributed Pakistan’s national security concerns to its history, unresolved border disputes with India, internal problems such as insurgencies, and the recent emergence of trans-border issues, such as terrorism. REFERENCE: Report: Roundtable on “South Asian States Turning into Security States and its Larger
Implications” with Gen. (Retd.) Jehangir Karamat, former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of the Pakistan army http://www.irs.org.pk/reports/Report_021512.pdf
Please note how Several noted and leading Top Pakistani Journalists present Villains and Criminals as Heroes in their Columns and TV Programs rather they go to extent to justify Murder.
General (R) Mirza Aslam Beg in Jirga - 1 (GEO... by SalimJanMazari
2008: Jihad only way to liberate IHK: ex-generals * Claim there will be no solution to Kashmir issue while Musharraf is in power RAWALPINDI: Retired army generals said on Tuesday that jihad was the only way to liberate Kashmir. Addressing a seminar on Kashmir Solidarity Day at a local hotel, they said the faulty policies of President Pervez Musharraf over the past eight years had moved the Kashmir issue to the backburner. They said it would remain unresolved while he was in power. They showered praise on sacked chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry for dispensing justice to the masses and Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan for turning the country into a nuclear state. They demanded that both men be released from detention promptly. General (r) Mirza Aslam Baig, General (r) Faiz Ali Chishti, General (r) Hameed Gul, General (r) Jamshaid Gulzar Kiyani, General (r) Asad Durrani, General (r) Sardar Anwar Khan, General (r) Abdul Qayyum and General (r) Ali Quli Khan and former bureaucrat Roedad Khan were prominent among the participants of the seminar, which was organised by the Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Society. The participants later rallied outside the hotel to show solidarity with the Kashmiris fighting Indian forces in the held valley for freedom. Former Steel Mills chief General (r) Abdul Qayyum claimed that Kashmir could only be liberated by waging jihad. REFERENCE: Jihad only way to liberate IHK: ex-generals * Claim there will be no solution to Kashmir issue while Musharraf is in power By Terence J Sigamony Wednesday, February 06, 2008 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C02%5C06%5Cstory_6-2-2008_pg7_41 ISLAMABAD: General (r) Mirza Aslam Baig, former chief of army staff, on Wednesday confirmed that Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed used to run a militant camp in Rawalpindi. He told Daily Times that being the army chief, he had received information about the camp where militants used to receive training. “The abandoned camp still has the signboard of Freedom House,” he said.He said the camp was established during the rise of an armed struggle in Kashmir, but was closed down in 1991 when the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif found out about its existence. Asked to comment on the denials issued by the foreign office and Sheikh Rashid himself about the camp, the former army chief said: “I am telling you what I have in my knowledge.” Ex-generals, politicians confirm Sheikh Rashid ran militant camp
By Shahzad Raza Thursday, June 16, 2005 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_16-6-2005_pg7_57
General (R) Mirza Aslam Beg in Jirga - 2 (GEO TV 4th Sep 2009)
General (R) Mirza Aslam Beg in Jirga - 2 (GEO... by SalimJanMazari
Afaq says he, Altaf got money from Younus ISLAMABAD: Mohajir Qaumi Movement’s chairman Afaq Ahmed admitted on Monday that he had received Rs5 million from Younus Habib in 1993, long after he along with several other leaders had parted ways with the party led by Altaf Hussain. He claimed that Mr Hussain had also received Rs5 million from Mr Habib in his presence and that former army chief Gen Mirza Aslam Beg was present on the occasion. Addressing a press conference, Mr Ahmed said he was presenting facts before the media so that it could highlight them without any fear. He accused the Muttahida Qaumi Movement of being involved in extortion and issuing threats to all segments of society in Karachi. “I have told this to the media in Karachi too but they do not have the courage to carry such things,” he said. Mr Afaq said Karachi was a part of the country but policymakers generally thought that negotiating with Mr Hussain was the only way to move ahead because of his influence in the city. He said it was imperative to clear the city of weapons for peace and tranquillity. “We will try to bring religious, nationalists and political groups to one platform for peace in Karachi.” In reply to a question, Mr Ahmed said that if new provinces were made on an ethnic grounds then it would be a never-ending process that might lead to disintegration of the country. REFERENCE: Afaq says he, Altaf got money from Younus A Reporter 20th March, 2012 http://dawn.com/2012/03/20/afaq-says-he-altaf-got-money-from-younus/ الطاف حسین بھتہ لیتے ہیں: آفاق احمد آخری وقت اشاعت: پير 19 مارچ 2012 , 13:46 GMT 18:46 PST http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/2012/03/120319_afaq_ahmed_tf.shtml
General (R) Mirza Aslam Beg in Jirga - 3 (GEO TV 4th Sep 2009)
General (R) Mirza Aslam Beg in Jirga - 3 (GEO... by SalimJanMazari
Hameed Gul admits he formed IJI Sunday, August 30, 2009 : ISLAMABAD: Former chief of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt-Gen (retd) Hameed Gul on Saturday disclosed that the PPP could have got landslide victory in 1988 elections, if the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) had not been formed. Talking to a private TV channel, he said: ìYes, we had such reports and apprehension of massive PPP victory.î Gul said they feared that the PPP was returning to power after the execution of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. I take the responsibility of forming the IJI, though it was not my idea,î Hameed Gul said. He said that even during Benazir Bhutto’s first visit to the ISI headquarters he told her about his role in forming the IJI. “We wanted the PPP opponents who had affiliation with the GHQ to unite them on one platform,” Gul said. He said ‘emergency’ was one of the options in 1988 after General Zia ul Haq’s plane crashed, but it was decided to go ahead with November 16 election despite request from opponents of the PPP to postpone it. He disclosed that even former Soviet Union sent a message to Pakistan that the 1988 elections could be sabotaged. Gul said: “This is for the first time I am disclosing that former Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev sent his envoy with a message regarding apprehensions of sabotaging the 1988 election through foreign intervention.”
He said he was not aware of the conditions to hand over power to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, but said he was asked to brief her before she was handed over the power. “Benazir wanted a briefing from the Establishment so I was sent for this purpose and the meeting took place at her friend’s house in Karachi, which lasted over two hours, and I told her that the Afghan Jihad had not ended yet. There were two or three other things, which I briefed her and she said she understood the situation,” he said. He denied “Midnight Jackal” as intelligence plot and said it was Imtiaz’s personal plan. “No agency was involved but Imtiaz himself,” Gul said. The ex-ISI chief denied he ever sent a message to MQM chief Altaf Hussain to join IJI and rejected the allegation of former Intelligence Bureau director, Brig (retd) Imtiaz. “I never sent Imtiaz to Altaf with a message to join IJI but to express concern over allegations of collection of ìBhattaî by some elements,” he said. He predicted the victory of Afghans in Afghanistan and the US exit, but expressed concern over post-US Afghanistan situation and said a weak government was going to be set up there. “We failed to give up political system in Afghanistan after Soviet Union left and now I don’t see much will happen after the US exit, but Afghans will win,” he added. REFERENCE: Hameed Gul admits he formed IJI Sunday, August 30, 2009 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=24196&Cat=13&dt=8/30/2009 REFERENCE: Pakistan's ex-spy chief rebuffs Gul's remarks Author: Azhar Masood I Arab News Tuesday 28 July 2009 http://www.arabnews.com/node/326561
2009 How a jilted Karachi woman saved Pak N-programme Rauf Klasra Thursday, May 28, 2009 : ISLAMABAD: As the nation celebrates the eleventh anniversary of Pakistan’s nuclear tests today (May 28), a shocking 30-year-old secret has been exposed. It reveals how a young woman college lecturer, feeling betrayed after a romance with a nuclear scientist of the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP), had given a lead to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in 1978, which in turn had led to the dramatic arrest of 12 Pakistani scientists and engineers, planning to sabotage Pakistan’s nuclear sites at the behest of a superpower. The startling spy ring was exposed by this female college lecturer of a Karachi Memon family to the then head of ISI Sindh Brig Imtiaz Ahmed (Operation Midnight Jackals fame), only because she wanted revenge from her lover for being unfaithful. The expose led to the arrest of Pakistani scientists who were later given death and life imprisonment sentences by the special tribunal set up by the then president General Ziaul Haq. Brig (retd) Imtiaz Ahmed broke his silence of over 30 years to share this amazing operation with The News on the eve of the 11th annual celebration of Pakistan going nuclear. He said that while many people take credit for saving our nuclear programme, no one actually knows how an unsung jilted girl had actually ended up saving Pakistan’s nuclear project out of sheer vengeance. Brig (retd) Imtiaz Ahmed served as director in charge Internal Security ISI for several years in Islamabad and later director general Intelligence Bureau (IB) in the first government of Nawaz Sharif. The then prime minister Benazir Bhutto had put him in jail for about three years on charges of being part of the operation to oust her in 1989 during her first government. Later, General Musharraf also put him in jail for four years till his acquittal by the Lahore High Court. He is the only spymaster of Pakistan who was jailed for eight years, after serving 15 years in the ISI and the IB. Read Complete Story: Reference: How a jilted Karachi woman saved Pak N-programme Rauf Klasra Thursday, May 28, 2009 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=22396&Cat=13&dt=5/28/2009
2009 The politics of Brigadier ‘Billa’ Tahir Hasan Khan Monday, August 31, 2009 : Brigadier (Retired) Imtiaz, also known as “Billa” is not new for the people of Sindh. He was Sindh ISI chief when political activist Nazeer Abbasi was murdered and a PIA plane was hijacked in early 80’s. The purpose of the murder of political activist Nazeer Abbasi was to warn political workers and the hijacking incident was to sabotage the MRD (Movement for Restoration of Democracy) action launched against Gen Zia-ul Haq. As a result of his work, Billa was promoted as brigadier in the army..
Predictably, his services were terminated in the first tenure of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Mian Nawaz Sharif who was the then chief minister of Punjab, however, appointed Billah as his security adviser and later made him IB chief when Sharif became prime minister in 1990. The disclosure of a secret visit of Imtiaz Billa in Sindh in 1992 was reported in this newspaper and I was very much under pressure when this was published. There was a warning for me not to publish such reports about the IB chief’s secret activities in Sindh. The purpose of the secret visit was to convince the MQM to withdraw its support to Jam Sadiq Ali, a nominee of then President Ghulan Ishaq Khan. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was not happy with Jam Sadiq and was in favour of Liaquat Jatoi, a finance minister in Jam Sadiq’s cabinet.
Ironically, Jatoi was dismissed by Jam Sadiq after his activities were disclosed by the intelligence agencies to the CM. It was the cold war between President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif which eventually led to the military operation in Sindh. Nawaz Sharif had the backing of Chief of Army Staff Gen Asif Nawaz who launched the operation. Kidnapping for ransom was at its peak at that time and the federal government blamed most of the sitting provincial ministers in Jam Sadiq’s cabinet who were said to provide shelter to dacoits and criminals. The military operation was seen as the only solution against dacoits. But the operation was diverted and re-launched against the MQM to crush the party. This changed the whole political culture of the Sindh and a politics of hate was generated in the province. Four democratic governments (two each by Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto) were dismissed due to such operations and General Asif Nawaz and his team were held responsible for this damage. A number of youth were killed in the operation while the law and order situation remained very disturbed in this time. There was also a flight of capital from Sindh to Punjab. The role of the intelligence agencies is not new neither is it a secret. PPP’s founder chairman Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the 70s blamed the agencies for funding politicians in the election against him in Sindh and Punjab. Sindh was the main target of the intelligence agencies and the purpose of all plans and conspiracies was against Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and the PPP. The state sponsored actors were behind the formation of Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) and then the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) against Bhutto and Benazir and huge funds were distributed among the politicians. Politics is still hostage in the hand of ‘State Sponsored Actors’. These actors have absolute power and funds. They were free to do whatever they want. There is no law and restriction for them and they openly and proudly boast of their crimes. There is no punishment for these characters from any quarter. The disclosures of Brig Imtiaz are not new. Perhaps Pakistan is the only country in the world where the “state sponsored actors’ always act against the popular political forces. Everybody knows the role of all dictators from General Ayub to General Pervez Musharraf and the victims who are popular political forces like the PPP, the MQM and the PML from Muhammad Khan Junejo to Nawaz Sharif. Conspiracies hatched by General Ayub, General Yahya, General Ziaul Haq, General Aslam Baig, General Asif Nawaz and General Pervez Musharraf against the elected and political leadership are neither secret nor new. The tactics of every dictator was different but they used the intelligence agencies (state sponsored actors) to damage the political leadership and system as well. A few newspapers published stories about these conspiracies in the past but the majority of the media has avoided to publish these facts because they were very much under pressure from these state sponsored actors. Now it is time for the electronic media and the disclosure of these state sponsored actors on TV channels is a surprising development, especially for students of political science and political observers. There must of some reason behind the activities and disclosures of state sponsored actors. Read Complete Story: Reference: The politics of Brigadier ‘Billa’ Tahir Hasan Khan Monday, August 31, 2009 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=195836&Cat=4&dt=8/31/2009
Brig Imtiaz defends agencies’ non-cooperation with UN mission Editor Reporting Sunday, April 25, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Former spymaster Brig (retd) Imtiaz Ahmed has defended the purported decision of the Army leadership and intelligence agencies to keep themselves at a distance from the UN investigation team which had probed the circumstances leading to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, adding, however, they are not immune to domestic investigations if so required. Giving his reaction to the contents of the UN report in which it was stated that Pakistani intelligence agencies did not cooperate with the three-member inquiry commission, the former IB chief said to justify the decision of secret agencies not to cooperate with the UN commission, may not come as a surprise for many, keeping his own association with intelligence agencies at top positions for several long years — first in the ISI and then in the IB. Commenting on the contents of the report, Brig Imtiaz said it was neither an investigative nor fact finding document, and at best it was only a ‘collation’ effort of all the tangible or intangible events, tale telling narrations in circulation ever since the occurrence of the tragedy. He said this document in his estimation was a ‘cover-up’ of some core ‘actors’ (foreign and domestic) who come in the cross line of the circumstantial and ground evidence as well as regional scenario. Brig (retd) Imtiaz said the return of Benazir Bhutto to Pakistan was consequential to a tripartite understanding, if he may call it an agreement, between America, Pervez Musharraf and the late Benazir Bhutto. The NRO was also part of the same concession given to Benazir. He claimed this agreement carried political advantage for Benazir Bhutto and Pervez Musharraf. Brig (retd) Imtiaz said Benazir upon her return to Pakistan rightly grasped the ground realities and decided to put her complete political force behind the then ongoing historic movement for the restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. The former brigadier believed she showed the red rag both to America and Pervez Musharraf, who could no longer allow this fatal end to their game plan. In this perspective, Brig (retd) Imtiaz said authors of the UN report had no other option, but to divert this critical dimension of the assassination to beef up certain other inconsequential facts and to give a colouring to malign our ‘prime intelligence agencies’ who have been always their target on the basis of fabricated and groundless arguments. He said the provision of security umbrella to Benazir Bhutto, who had twice remained prime minister and enjoyed the prominence of national and international recognition, was the sole responsibility of Pervez Musharraf which in this case was amazingly not only invisible but rather seemed to facilitate the perpetrators of the crime. He asked why was the route of Benazir’s return changed in a surreptitious manner? The box type mobile security covers (four security vehicles) were not provided to her vehicle, no arrangements for emergent availability of ambulance vehicle were made. Autopsy constitutes a critical step in criminal investigation and it was the legal obligation of the senior police officer present on the site to give in writing to the medical authorities to go ahead with prompt autopsy irrespective of the absence of immediate response from Dubai. He said the disappearance of the important party personalities in Benazir’s follow-up vehicle from the site of the incident warrants precise answers. REFERENCE: Brig Imtiaz defends agencies’ non-cooperation with UN mission Editor Reporting Sunday, April 25, 2010 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=28488&Cat=13&dt=4/25/2010
2009 Brig Imtiaz’s arrest demanded for communist leader’s murder * Widow says her husnband ‘killed after torture’, has proof of Brigadier Imtiaz’s involvement: The family and comrades of the late Communist Party leader Nazeer Abbasi, on Sunday demanded a retrial of Abbasi’s alleged killers and the arrest of Brigadier (Retd) Imtiaz Ahmed, former Director-General, Intelligence Bureau (IB), in the case.
Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Sunday, Abbasi’s widow Hameeda Ghanghro, Prof. Jamal Naqvi, and Kamal Warsi who were detained along with Nazeer Abbasi allegedly by the intelligence agencies during Gen. Zia’s rule, urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo moto notice of the case. Mrs Abbasi recalled that the case was reopened in 1994 during second tenure of the Benazir Bhutto government, and, during preliminary investigation, it was revealed that Brigadier Imtiaz Ahmed had killed her husband. Nazeer Abbasi was detained and killed in August 1980. She said that the post-mortem examination report had confirmed that Nazeer Abbasi was killed because of extensive torture. She added that, after the overthrowing of the Benazir government, the case was put in cold storage. Prof. Jamal recalled that after the “murder” of Nazeer Abbasi, pictures of Nazeer and five others, including him, were published in newspapers to show that “we are alive.” He said that Abbasi’s photograph was published in the newspapers but the caption did not give his name. He said that when their pictures were taken, they were in state of unconsciousness because of torture. Kamal Warsi alleged that Brig. Imtiaz had himself interrogated him and his colleagues on assumptions that they were working on a “foreign agenda.” Hameeda Ghanghro (Mrs Abbasi) said that she had lodged an FIR of the case in August 1980 after eight days of her husband’s death and had nominated the then military ruler Gen. Ziaul Haq and the then Governor Sindh S.M.Abbasi. She claimed that Benazir Bhutto herself had informed her that Brig. Imtiaz was involved in the murder of her husband in 1990s and she had issued a statement on that occasion that Brig. Imtiaz should be nominated and arrested in the case. She said that the proceedings into the case had started on 17th August 1980 before a local court in the city but it was suddenly stopped. She urged the government to initiate an inquiry against Brig. Imtiaz on charges of killing her husband and spreading anarchy and undermining democracy in the country. She also urged the Supreme Court to take suo moto notice of the case. She urged the government to set up a commission to hold an inquiry into role of Brig. Imtiaz for undermining democracy in the country. REFERENCES: Custodial death of Nazeer Abbasi our correspondent Monday, August 31, 2009 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=195828&Cat=4&dt=8/31/2009 Brig Imtiaz’s arrest demanded for communist leader’s murder * Widow says her husnband ‘killed after torture’, has proof of Brigadier Imtiaz’s involvement By Amar Guriro Monday, August 31, 2009 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009%5C08%5C31%5Cstory_31-8-2009_pg7_11
2009: Brig Imtiaz reveals CIA plots Ansar Abbasi Tuesday, September 01, 2009 ISLAMABAD: Former spymaster Brigadier (retd) Imtiaz Ahmad, whose recent statements caused ripples in the country’s political arena, now talks of a much serious issue ñ Pakistan’s nuclear programme. He claims to have foiled two American CIA plots to sabotage the country’s nuclear programme. While serving for the ISI, he recalled, he had conducted the operation ‘Rising Sun’ in 1979 that successfully thwarted a CIA plot to target Pakistanís nuclear programme. The operation concluded with the arrest and conviction of a Pakistani CIA agent, declaration of a few undercover CIA agents and US diplomats as personae non gratae and their return. In the second case, Brigadier (retd) Imtiaz said, he, as the Intelligence Bureau chief, had discovered another CIA plot being operated through a third country mainly to hit the countryís nuclear programme. Talking to The News here on Monday, Brigadier Imtiaz said that in the late 70s, the CIA spotted one Rafiq Munshi, a graduate of Karachi University, and took him to the US to be trained on nuclear technicalities and intelligence skills. Later, he got appointed in Kanup Karachi as an engineer. It was in 1979 when he was launched back by the CIA with a mission to penetrate into the country’s nuclear network with two clear objectives. Firstly, to provide them (CIA) information about the nuclear programme’s development, security and protection measures for the nuclear installations and identification of nuclear scientists working on sensitive assignments. Secondly, he was assigned to create an opportunity, when given signal, for a technical sabotage of certain nuclear installations.
Imtiaz said that Rafiq Munshi was provided substantial financial aid and was made to operate in close coordination with a few special CIA operators, who were undercover agents and working under diplomatic cover in the US embassy in Islamabad and its consulate in Karachi. Imtiaz said during those days he was posted in Karachi as a Lt-Colonel and the ISI chief in Sindh. After getting the clue of the plot and personally monitoring it for several months, he disclosed, he conducted the operation ‘Rising Sun’.
He said that the operation was conducted in a very secret manner and it was only between him and the then DG ISI Maj General Riaz Muhammad Khan as to what was going on against the countryís nuclear programme.
“I fell impelled to pay greatest tributes to the then DG ISI Maj General Riaz Muhammad Khan, who not only encouraged me but also gave me complete authority to fearlessly conduct the operation,” Imtiaz said, adding that the operation that consumed 8-10 months finally ended up successfully with the arrest of Rafiq Munshi from Karachi while the undercover CIA agents were returned to Washington after being declared as personae non gratae.
According to Imtiaz, he was later summoned by the then ruler General Ziaul Haq, whom he briefed on the operation ‘Rising Sun’ and its outcome. “After hearing all the details, General Ziaul Haq immediately went to another room to talk to the US president. And what I assessed from his body language as soon as he returned after making the telephone call was a clear message that Zia had lodged a forceful protest with the Americans over its plot against Pakistan’s nuclear programme.”
Brigadier (retd) Imtiaz said that he was decorated with Sitar-i-Rasalat for foiling the CIA plot. However, he said, Rafique Munshi, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, was released during Benazir Bhutto’s first government and got closely associated with the Pakistan People’s Party.
Talking about the second CIA plot targeting Pakistanís nuclear programme that he had successfully foiled, he said that he did it during his stint as DG Intelligence Bureau in Nawaz Sharifís first tenure and at a time when tension between the then president Ghulam Ishaq Khan and PM Nawaz Sharif was at its peak.
Sharing the details of the plot, he said that he got a clue about an individual, who was in contact with an Islamabad-based ambassador of a European country, which was operating for the CIA as a third country. “I personally got in contact with the individual and made a concerted effort to motivate him to work in the national interest instead of becoming an agent of the countryís enemies.” Imtiaz said that he had succeeded in persuading the individual, who later agreed to work for Pakistan as a double agent and for the same reason, the ex-DG IB said, he was duty bound not to disclose his identity. The retired brigadier said that through briefing and debriefings of the same individual, who was nick-named as “Star”, he came to know about the details of the plot that was being hatched against Pakistan by the CIA.
Imtiaz disclosed that “Star” was taken to the US where he had received instructions as how he was supposed to operate. Heavily financed, “Star” when came back told the IB chief in his debriefing that he was assigned multiple tasks but the topmost assignment was to find out complete details of the deficiency in the security system of Pakistanís nuclear programme, the exact location of strategic arsenals and the nature of their security arrangements and weaknesses. “Star”, he said, was also asked to create a favourable lobby in the corridors of power to seek policy decisions on the Kashmir issue in accordance with the aspiration of Washington. Imtiaz said that “Star” was also asked to fuel regionalism with focus on the activation of the demand for the creation of a Seraiki province. In this regard, Imtiaz said, “Star” was to create an NGO based in Islamabad and having branches in Bahawalpur and Sindh. Imtiaz said that one more assignment given to “Star” by the CIA was to weaken the extreme emotional attachment of the common Pakistanis with Islamic values. He said that his interaction with “Star” continued and the latter was successfully working as a double agent for Pakistan till the dismissal of the Nawaz Sharif government, which also led to his immediate resignation. Imtiaz said that on the basis of his each and every interaction with “Star”, he used to make his hand written notes all of which were saved in the safe of the DG IB. Later, what happened to those notes, Brigadier Imtiaz does not know. He, however, said that “Star” later left Pakistan and got settled in a foreign country. “Star”, according to Imtiaz, had offered his cooperation on the condition that he would never be handed over to any other IB operator. REFERENCE: Brig Imtiaz reveals CIA plots Ansar Abbasi Tuesday, September 01, 2009 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=24241&Cat=13&dt=9/1/2009 Hamid Gul: I am being demonized by Jews Author: Azhar Masood | Arab News Monday 27 July 2009 http://www.arabnews.com/node/326516
2009: Only bean-spilling spooks can tell why By Zaffar Abbas 2009 ISLAMABAD, Aug 31 Brigadier (retd) Imtiaz Ahmed, or others like him who served in the security services over the past three decades, may alone know the real reason for re-igniting the controversies regarding their role in the making and breaking of political parties, alliances and governments, and of institutionalising corruption in the country`s politics.
It is unclear whether this was his intention but the retired brigadier, known as Imtiaz `Billa (the cat)` in the army circles of yesteryear, has done one great service to this nation.
Through his confessions, which he proudly describes as `revelations`, he has revived memories of some of the worst transgressions of the law and violations of norms of decent conduct and human rights by the intelligence agencies. Particularly during the dreaded rule of the dictator Gen Ziaul Haq during the late `70s and early `80s.
As these revelations jog one`s memory, one is propelled back in time to the period when Imtiaz Billa`s name had become synonymous with dirty, horrible, tactics in dealing with Zia`s political opponents. During this period, arrests, torture and even death in custody of political opponents dubbed Indian or Soviet agents, had become the order of the day.
As the re-emergence of the
debate takes some of us down the memory lane, an unforgettable reference comes to mind when `Imtiaz Billa` came to be known among the communist and other left-wing activists as `butcher`.
Tasked by Gen Zia to eliminate anyone or everyone who had even tenuous links with the otherwise tiny communist movement, Billa and his men took upon themselves the task of hunting down those associated with groups viewed as pro-Soviet.
Basking in the glory of having earned the support of the United States because of the Soviet presence in Afghanistan, Gen Zia wanted to pursue his own agenda of Islamisation by neutralising all who may have represented socialist or secular ideals.
Noted journalist Sohail Sangi, one such victim of the security services, recalls that in those days Imtiaz Billa was either posted in Karachi or, as an ISI colonel, was supervising the anti-communist operation in Karachi and elsewhere in Sindh province.
It was during these days in August 1980 that a group of left-wing activists approached a few journalists at the press club in Karachi to seek their help in highlighting the news of death in custody of communist student leader Nazir Abbasi.
Abbasi had died during torture as attempts were made to extract information from eight prominent members of the defunct Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP). The news had come out once his body was handed over to his relatives for burial, but the newspapers were unable to publish the reason for his death because of strict censorship.
As Professor Jamal Naqvi, one of the arrested communist leaders, later mentioned in his testimony during the famous `Jam Saqi trial`, it was Nazir Abbasi`s death that saved the rest of the detainees from further torture, as they were soon shifted from a military interrogation cell to a Karachi prison.
Even during the military trial the actual case that the intelligence agency had framed against Jam Saqi and his comrades was not about their involvement in promoting Soviet communism in the country but of working for the Indian intelligence to topple Gen Zia`s military regime.
Prof Naqvi, Jam Saqi and also others like Sohail Sangi, Jabbar Khattak, Kamal Warsi and Shabbir Sher are around to testify to the horrors of that dark period.
Then there were many other cases against nationalist leaders like Rasul Bux Palijo or communist activists like lmdad Chandio and scores of others that were all fabricated so that those charged could be kept away from mainstream politics.
Hijacking case
The ISI`s political cell under Gen Zia had acquired a much bigger role with the hijacking of a PIA plane by the so-called Al Zulfiqar in 1981. This incident gave a new lease of life to Gen Zia, as he used it to his advantage to allow the intelligence to round up thousands of political activists in the country – perhaps the biggest crackdown since the mass arrest of political activists to coincide with Mr Bhutto`s hanging. Also, Brig Imtiaz Billa is once again trying to make a big thing of the so-called conspiracy hatched by Ghulam Mustafa Khar to topple Gen Zia`s regime. At one point, noted lawyer and activist Raza Kazim was also implicated in the case, and so were a number of junior officers.
In this case too they were accused of having links with RAW. None of them ever denied having worked to remove Gen Zia, but for `Billa` and others the easiest thing was to link them to India to justify their military trial.
`American agent`
Perhaps the most bizarre of such incidents was the arrest of a trade union leader in Karachi, Rafiq Safi Munshi on the charge of being an American agent. A few months ago Imtiaz Billa `disclosed` in a newspaper interview how he trapped an `American agent` who was passing on nuclear secrets in Karachi to his `handlers` at the US consulate.
Many may differ with the Rafiq Safi`s style of politics, but the fact is that he was associated with the PPP, and was a prominent leader of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation`s (KESC) trade Union, and was not working at Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (Kannup) as the retired brigadier had portrayed. Even otherwise, what has Kannup plant got to do with Pakistan`s nuclear weapons programme?
But in the martial law period the arrest of any opponent of the military junta was justified, and branding them as Indian or Soviet, or in one case, even American, agent kosher.
Special courts
What helped the junta more was a blanket news censorship and holding of trial in summary and special military courts, whose verdicts were often written before the start of the case proceedings.
It will be quite interesting to find out that in many cases the only crime of such left-wing activists, including many professors of Quaid-i-Azam University, was secretly publishing anti-Zia literature.
The role of the military intelligence services in former East Pakistan is often described as the worst as in those days hundreds disappeared and popular opinion was suppressed by arresting and trying Awami League leaders as foreign agents.
But a close study of Gen Zia`s days, and the powers that were given to people like `Billa`, or the entire ISI under first Generals Ghulam Jilani and then Akhtar Abdur Rehman and finally Lt-Gen Hameed Gul, may show how blatantly they violated the law and human rights.
Probe commission
Now that Brig (retd) Imtiaz has himself decided to spill the beans, perhaps, as many believe, to defame a few more politicians, there are some quarters who argue that democracy will be served better if the politicians collectively demand a high-powered commission to probe into the role of the intelligence services in the country`s politics, particularly during the days of Gen Ziaul Haq and beyond.
Politicians may or may not have taken money from the ISI or Intelligence Bureau. But if a former ISI chief, Lt-Gen (retd) Asad Durrani, accepts he distributed money among a large number of politicians, and if Lt-Gen (retd) Hamid Gul boasts of forming an anti-Benazir Bhutto opposition alliance, or if Brig (retd) Imtiaz goes on television to accuse Ghulam Mustafa Khar of taking Rs5 million for his election campaign, then there are enough grounds to initiate proceedings against them and others for subverting the democratic process in the country.
Perhaps, the best person to head the commission would be Air Marshal (retd) Asghar Khan, as he is the one who had approached the Supreme Court to expose the role of the ISI in the country`s politics. And if the present Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani is to be believed about having disbanded ISI`s political wing, it will be fair to assume he will have no objection in a public discussion about the intelligence agencies` dubious political role in the past. At a time when the military is battling forces of religious extremism and militancy, the irony won`t be lost on the leadership that under a different regime it was their own colleagues who tried to crush those representing more tolerant political thought. REFERENCE: Only bean-spilling spooks can tell why By Zaffar Abbas 2009 http://archives.dawn.com/archives/37099
