Islamabad: Branding Pakistani intelligence
agencies mainly the ISI as a "rogue agency", country's top
nuclear scientist AQ Khan has said that it takes orders from
the Army chief and not the civilian government.
Charging that ISI operated outside the law and totally
ignored court orders, Khan in a scathing attack on the
military intelligence agency said it was being used against
politicians and as a "extended arm of the dictators."
Writing in a column in the daily 'The News', said,
"this had led to all the coups staged in the country," since
the military takeover by late dictator Ayub Khan.
"Unfortunately, in our country the performance of the
intelligence agencies is anything but commendable and is not
something to be proud of.
They have been the extended arm of dictators and been
widely branded as rogue organisations," he wrote.
The intelligence agencies "operate outside the law,
are least bothered about the judiciary and totally ignore
court orders", wrote Khan, who was placed under house arrest
after he admitted running a clandestine nuclear proliferation
ring in early 2004.
In recent months, Pakistani authorities have removed
or relaxed some of the restrictions imposed on him.
Referring to a case in the Supreme Court about 11
"missing" terror suspects who are believed to be in the
custody of intelligence agencies, Khan wrote the episode "more
or less confirms the universal belief that our intelligence
agencies are rogue agencies and are above the law and the
Constitution."
Khan wrote that during the regime of former military
ruler Pervez Musharraf, "a general, an ISI colonel and eight
subordinates forcibly sent us to Bannigala (near Islamabad)
and kept us there for 10 hours."
He added: "During that time our house was totally
ransacked, bedrooms, clothes, books, files, etc., searched and
many things taken away all this without any official warrant
or court order to do so."
He claimed his house was bugged with cameras and
listening devices.
"In any civilised society such despicable acts are
totally unacceptable and are dealt with severely by the
courts," he wrote.
"Ever since Ayub Khan's coup, our intelligence
agencies have been used as servants for personal use and
against political opponents.
Their main task gathering information for national
security and safety was superseded.
It is said that our most expensive and extensive
networks, like the ISI and the (Military Intelligence), are
run by the army and take orders from the army chief, not from
the civilian government.
This has led to all the coups staged in this
country," Khan wrote.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, December 08, 2010, 23:50