Pakistan's Spy Agencies: Challenges of Civilian Government Control over Intelligence Agencies, Bureaucratization and Militarization of Interest Groups, Marginalization of Civilian Intelligence Agencies, and Power Struggles

Key Chapter Title List

1. Pakistan's Intelligence Agencies: Stakeholders, Trust Crisis, and the Absence of a Modern Intelligence Mechanism
2. The Militarization of Intelligence, the Ineffectiveness of Civilian Intelligence, and the Power Struggle Between Military and Civilian Spy Agencies
3. The Challenge of Civilian Control Over Intelligence Agencies, Democratic Governments, Military Systems, and Power Games
4. Military Courts, Violations of Fair Trials, Confessions Lacking Sufficient Safeguards Against Torture, Harsh Treatment of Prisoners, and Deprivation of Public Hearings
5. Pakistan's Godfather: The Inter-Services Intelligence and the Afghan Taliban (1994-2010)
6. The United States' Greatest Strategic Failure: Steve Coll on the CIA and the ISI
7. The S Wing: The CIA and America's Secret War in Afghanistan and Pakistan
8. The Political and Military Involvement of the ISI in Afghanistan
9. The Pakistan Army and the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement
10. The Double Game: Why Pakistan Supports Militants and Resists U.S. Pressure to Stop

Document Introduction

This study delves into the internal workings of Pakistan's vast and complex intelligence system and the profound challenges it poses to domestic politics and regional security. The core focus of the report is the dilemma of civilian governments' control over intelligence agencies, particularly the highly influential Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). For a long time, Pakistan's intelligence system has been deeply entangled in the power struggles among the military, civilian bureaucracy, and political interest groups. This has led to the distortion of its professional functions, transforming it into a tool for domestic political infighting and proxy wars abroad, rather than a pure defender of national security.

The report systematically outlines the historical evolution, functional scope, and competitive relationships among Pakistan's main intelligence agencies—the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the Intelligence Bureau (IB), and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Among these, the ISI, leveraging its military background and management of strategic assets in places like Afghanistan and Kashmir, has gradually evolved into a "state within a state." Its influence deeply permeates Pakistan's foreign policy, domestic politics, and even the judicial sphere. In contrast, the Intelligence Bureau (IB), as the primary civilian intelligence agency, has become increasingly marginalized under the suppression of successive military regimes, even becoming embroiled in partisan struggles, severely damaging its professional capabilities and credibility.

The analytical framework of this study covers several key dimensions: First is the militarization of the intelligence system and the marginalization of civilian agencies, which has led to severe fragmentation and internal conflict in national security strategies when countering terrorism and extremist threats. Second, the report details how the military, under the guise of counter-terrorism, has eroded civil rights and judicial independence through measures such as establishing military courts and implementing enforced disappearances. Finally, the study dedicates significant space to analyzing the dual role of Pakistani intelligence agencies, especially the ISI, in the Afghan conflict. It reveals their long-standing policy of supporting non-state actors like the Taliban to counter Indian influence and seek strategic depth, and how this has exacerbated instability in Afghanistan and impacted the effectiveness of the U.S. war on terror.

Based on extensive literature research, including declassified diplomatic cables, intelligence assessments, media reports, academic papers, and in-depth case analyses of key events (such as the Memogate scandal, the Dawn Leaks, the capture of Mullah Baradar, etc.), the report paints a picture of how Pakistan's intelligence system operates within the confines of domestic power struggles and regional strategic calculations. It points out that the lack of effective civilian oversight and strategically unified reforms not only continues to weaken Pakistan's democratic institutions but also makes it a key factor in the persistent instability of South Asia.