Frontline Pakistan : The Struggle With Militant Islam - Arz-e-Pak

Frontline Pakistan
in January 2002, appearing much more relaxed and basking in his
new-found international role. ‘No democratically elected government
could have moved so quickly,’ he added. 28
General Mahmood’s removal was important, but it did not solve all
the problems. Many senior officers harboured strong anti-American
sentiments and obviously resented Pakistan fighting what they
described as ‘America’s dirty war’. ‘I hate to work with the Americans,’
a senior ISI brigadier told me. ‘I wish they get bogged down in
Afghanistan.’ Some of them refused to accept that al-Qaeda or Muslims
were responsible for the 11 September attacks. It was going to be very
difficult for them to break their associations and change their opinions
after collaborating with militant Islamists for so long.
Musharraf chose Lt.-General Ehsan ul-Haq, a moderate officer with
a strong intelligence background, as the new ISI chief. A Pashtun from
Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province, he had earlier served as head
of Military Intelligence and was known for his middle-of-the-road
views. One of his first jobs was to revamp the agency and to weed out
those officers who had a long association with the Islamic militants.
General Haq signalled a significant change in course, disbanding
two major units of the ISI that had close links to Islamic militants in
Afghanistan and Kashmir.
The move was seen as one of most significant shifts emerging
from Musharraf’s decision to align his country with the USA and to
reduce ties with Islamic militants there and in Kashmir. The measure
resulted in the transfer of perhaps 40 per cent of forces assigned to
the ISI, which drew most of its manpower from the military. The
action also served a major purpose of purging the ‘Taliban cell’ set
up in the intelligence agency by General Mahmood. The American
intelligence officials reportedly helped in compiling a list of suspect
pro-Islamic officers who were to be removed from the organization.
Despite the massive changes, the ISI’s links with the Islamists were
never successfully severed. They found it difficult to leave the old
linkages behind. Nevertheless, the ISI helped tilt the balance in the
battle in Afghanistan. The withdrawal of the ISI’s support catalysed the
swift fall of the Taliban regime. The agency, which had been deeply
involved with the Taliban from its inception, guided the American
forces in ousting its own creation.
Unlike his predecessor, General Haq kept a low profile, but became
a key member of Musharraf’s inner coterie. The ISI had assumed a
much greater importance not only because of its new-found role in the