A Bid for Control Backfires

Washington is losing faith that Pakistan's new civilian government can stop the expansion of Al Qaeda-linked terrorism in that country's tribal regions. One big problem: tensions between the ruling party of slain leader Benazir Bhutto and the Pakistani military. The latest evidence emerged just as the new prime minister, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, left for Washington last week to meet President Bush, NEWSWEEK has learned. In a maneuver attributed to Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widower and head of the Pakistan People's Party, the government tried to wrest control of Pakistan's powerful intelligence service—the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI—by placing it under the control of Rehman Malik, a Zardari associate who is de facto Interior Minister. That was a "rookie move," says a U.S. official, who declined to be named discussing a sensitive matter, and it backfired.

Before making its move against the ISI, U.S. and Pakistani officials say, the civilian government failed to consult with some top military brass, including President Pervez Musharraf, who until recently was the Army chief of staff. According to a senior Pakistani official who would speak only on condition of anonymity, Musharraf heard about the decision as he was leaving to attend a wedding. In disbelief, he called the ISI's director general to verify the news. "Were you consulted?" he asked. The answer was no. Another senior Pakistani government official, who also requested anonymity, blamed the fumble on Malik, saying he misworded the announcement to make it seem as if the Interior Ministry was taking over the entire ISI, when in fact it is only seeking control of "domestic operations." (Malik did not return calls. Zardari, reached on his cell phone, declined to comment.)

Malik's gambit followed a series of visits to Pakistan by CIA and other senior U.S. officials, who complain the ISI is still riddled with Islamist sympathizers. In fact, U.S. officials believe the ISI provided support to the perpetrators of the fatal July 7 bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. According to a Taliban commander who serves under Jalaluddin Haqqani, the militant leader implicated in the blast, Haqqani's forces moved their base after the ISI alerted them about the U.S. (Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S., Husain Haqqani—no relation—told NEWSWEEK that his government "has not been presented with evidence of any ISI connection.") Islamabad could be in for more bad news. The government is bracing for the fall publication of a memoir by Pakistan's rogue nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan. Officials fear that Khan may disclose secrets about the country's nuclear capability.

© 2008