View source for Inter-Services Intelligence

{{Short description|Military intelligence service of Pakistan}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox government agency
| agency_name     = Inter-Services Intelligence
| motto           = {{nowrap|{{lang|ar|خُذُواحِذرُکُم}} {{Cite quran|4|71}}}}
| native_name     = {{nq|انٹر سروسز انٹیلی جنس}}
| seal            = ISI Emblem.png
| seal_width      = 200
| seal_caption    = Seal of the [[Inter-Services Intelligence]]
| logo            = Armed Forces of Pakistan Flag.svg
| logo_size       = 200
| logo_caption    = Flag of [[Pakistan Armed Forces]]
| image           = Inter Services Intelligence Headquarter.jpg
| image_size      = 230
| image_caption   = Satellite imagery of Inter Services Intelligence Headquarter in [[Islamabad]], [[Pakistan]]
| formed          = {{Start date and age|1948|1|1|df=y}}
| jurisdiction    = [[Government of Pakistan]]
| headquarters    = [[Islamabad]], [[Pakistan]]
| employees       = Classified
| budget          = Classified
| chief1_name     = [[Lt. Gen.]] [[Asim Malik]]
| chief1_position = [[Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence|Director-General]]
| parent_department = [[Ministry of Defence of Pakistan|Ministry of Defence]]
| child1_agency   = [[Covert Action Division]]
}}

The '''Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)''' ([[Urdu]]: انٹر سروسز انٹیلی جنس) is the [[military intelligence]] agency of [[Pakistan]]. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing information from around the world that is deemed relevant to Pakistan's national security. The main objective of the ISI is to integrate the [[Pakistan Armed Forces]] during wartime with real-time intelligence and support. The ISI reports to its agency executive and is primarily focused on providing intelligence to the [[Government of Pakistan]] and the [[Pakistan Armed Forces]]. It is part of the [[Pakistani Intelligence community|Pakistan Intelligence Community]].

The ISI primarily consists of serving [[Officer (armed forces)|military officers]] drawn on [[secondment]] from the three service branches of the [[Pakistan Armed Forces]]: the [[Pakistan Army]], [[Pakistan Navy]], and [[Pakistan Air Force]], hence the name "Inter-Services"; the agency also recruits civilians. Since 1971, it has been formally headed by a serving [[Three-star rank|three-star general]] of the Pakistan Army, who is appointed by the [[Prime Minister of Pakistan]] in consultation with the [[Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan)|Chief of Army Staff]], who recommends three officers for the position. As of 30 September 2024, the ISI is headed by [[Lieutenant general (Pakistan)|Lt. Gen.]] [[Asim Malik]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1653379|title=PM Imran appoints Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum as new DG ISI|first=Naveed|last=Siddiqui|date=26 October 2021|website=DAWN.COM}}</ref> The Director-General reports directly to both the Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff.

Relatively unknown outside of Pakistan since its inception, the agency gained global recognition and fame in the 1980s when it backed the [[Afghan mujahideen]] against the [[Soviet Union]] during the [[Soviet–Afghan War]] in the former [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan]]. Over the course of the conflict, the ISI worked in close coordination with the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] of the [[United States]] and the [[Secret Intelligence Service]] of the [[United Kingdom]] to run [[Operation Cyclone]], a program to train and fund the mujahideen in Afghanistan with support from [[China]], [[Saudi Arabia]], and other [[Muslim world|Muslim nations]].<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Pear|first1=Robert|date=18 April 1988|title=Arming Afghan Guerrillas: A Huge Effort Led by U.S. (Published 1988)|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/18/world/arming-afghan-guerrillas-a-huge-effort-led-by-us.html|access-date=7 February 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709124837/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/18/world/arming-afghan-guerrillas-a-huge-effort-led-by-us.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=18 November 2015|title=We created Islamic extremism: Those blaming Islam for ISIS would have supported Osama bin Laden in the '80s|url=https://www.salon.com/2015/11/17/we_created_islamic_extremism_those_blaming_islam_for_isis_would_have_supported_osama_bin_laden_in_the_80s/|access-date=7 February 2021|website=[[Salon.com|Salon]]|language=en|archive-date=20 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120191804/https://www.salon.com/2015/11/17/we_created_islamic_extremism_those_blaming_islam_for_isis_would_have_supported_osama_bin_laden_in_the_80s/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=22 May 2020|title=9/11 convict: Osama Bin Laden a 'useful idiot' of the CIA|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200522-9-11-convict-osama-bin-laden-a-useful-idiot-of-the-cia/|access-date=7 February 2021|website=[[Middle East Monitor]]|language=en-GB|archive-date=9 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209150136/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200522-9-11-convict-osama-bin-laden-a-useful-idiot-of-the-cia/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the dissolution of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in 1992, the [[Inter-Services Intelligence activities in Afghanistan|ISI provided strategic support]] and intelligence to the [[Taliban]] against the [[Northern Alliance]] during the [[Afghan Civil War (1992–1996)|Afghan Civil War]] in the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.rediff.com/us/2002/jan/24ny2.htm |title=Rediff.com US edition: India protests airlift of Pakistanis from Kunduz |access-date=24 December 2018 |archive-date=25 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200525191655/https://www.rediff.com/us/2002/jan/24ny2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Sky">{{cite journal |author=Matt Waldman |date=June 2010 |title=The Sun in the Sky: The Relationship between Pakistan's ISI and Afghan Insurgents |journal=Crisis States Working Papers |publisher=Crisis States Research Centre, [[London School of Economics]] and Political Science |issue=series no.2, no. 18 |page=3 |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Documents/2010/6/13/20106138531279734lse-isi-taliban.pdf |quote=In the 1980s the ISI was instrumental in supporting seven Sunni Muslim mujahideen groups in their jihad against the Soviets and was the principal conduit of covert US and Saudi funding. It subsequently played a pivotal role in the emergence of the Taliban (Coll 2005:292) and Pakistan provided significant political, financial, military and logistical support to the former [[Taliban]] regime in [[Afghanistan]] (1996–2001)(Rashid 2001). |access-date=16 October 2011 |archive-date=26 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101226000552/http://english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Documents/2010/6/13/20106138531279734lse-isi-taliban.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author-link=Steve Coll|last=Coll|first=Steve|title=[[Ghost Wars|Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to 10 September 2001]]|publisher=[[Penguin Group]]|year=2004|isbn=9781594200076|pages=289–297|quote=Yet ISI's ambition was greater than its purse. Pakistan's army suffered from acute money problems during 1995. The army commanded the lion's share of Pakistan's budget, but with American aid cut over the nuclear issue, there was not much to go around.&nbsp;... As it had during the 1980s, ISI needed Saudi intelligence, and it needed wealthy Islamist patrons from the Persian Gulf.&nbsp;... The Pakistanis were advertising the Taliban to the Saudis as an important new force on the Afghan scene.&nbsp;... The scale of Saudi payments and subsidies to Pakistan's army and intelligence service during the mid-1990s has never been disclosed. Judging by the practices of the previous decade, direct transfers and oil price subsidies to Pakistan's military probably amounted in some years to at least several hundred million dollars. This bilateral support helped ISI build up its proxy jihad forces in both Kashmir and Afghanistan.}}</ref> The ISI has strong links with [[jihadist]] groups, particularly in [[Afghanistan]] and [[Kashmir]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Fear of democracy in Pakistan as ISI gets power over civil service|newspaper=The Guardian newspaper|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/inter-services-intelligence-isi |access-date=2025-06-21|author=Shah Meer Baloch|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613080238/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/12/fear-for-democracy-in-pakistan-as-isi-gets-power-over-civil-service|language=en|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 June 2022}}</ref><ref name=BBC>{{Cite news|date=9 October 2006|title=Pakistan's shadowy secret service, the ISI |language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-13272009 |access-date=2025-06-21|archive-date=23 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080123085151/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6033383.stm|url-status=dead|author=Mahmud Ali}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Burke |first=Jason |date=2011-04-25 |title=Guantánamo Bay files: Pakistan's ISI spy service listed as terrorist group |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/25/guantanamo-files-isi-inter-services-intelligence |access-date=2023-02-15 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Walsh |first=Declan |date=2011-05-12 |title=Whose side is Pakistan's ISI really on? |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/12/isi-bin-laden-death-pakistan-alqaida |access-date=2023-02-15 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name="firstpost.com">{{Cite web|date=2011-07-21|title=ISI sponsors terror activities in Kashmir, FBI tells US court|url=https://www.firstpost.com/politics/isi-sponsors-terror-activities-in-kashmir-fbi-tells-us-court-46038.html|access-date=2021-09-22|website=Firstpost}}</ref><ref name="rediff.com">{{Cite web|title=ISI gives arms to Kashmir terrorists: Rana to FBI - Rediff.com News|url=https://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-isi-gives-arms-to-kashmiri-terrorists-rana-to-fbi/20110607.htm|access-date=2021-09-22|website=www.rediff.com}}</ref> Its special warfare unit is the [[Covert Action Division]]. The [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI), in their first ever open acknowledgement in 2011 in US Court, said that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) sponsors and oversees the [[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir|insurgency in Kashmir]] by arming separatist militant groups.<ref name="firstpost.com" /><ref name="rediff.com" />

==History==
The Inter-Services Intelligence was established in 1948. It was the [[Idea|brainchild]] of Major General [[Walter Cawthorn]], then Deputy Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Army, following the [[First Kashmir War]] which had exposed weaknesses in intelligence gathering, sharing, and coordination between the army, air force, navy, [[Intelligence Bureau (Pakistan)|Intelligence Bureau]] (IB) and [[Military Intelligence of Pakistan|Military Intelligence]] (MI).{{citation needed|date=January 2024}} The ISI was structured to be operated by officers from the three main military services and to specialize in the collection, analysis, and assessment of external military and non-military intelligence.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

While Cawthorn established the ISI, it was [[Syed Shahid Hamid]] who was tasked with fully setting up the agency. In a confidential report to the Joint Service Commander's Committee, Cawthorn wrote: "In October 1948, Brigadier Shahid Hamid was assigned the task of building this organization from scratch. Despite significant challenges, such as the lack of experienced personnel and essential records, as well as continued staff shortages, he successfully developed the Directorate into a functional organization. He also gained the trust and cooperation of the Service Intelligence authorities in the United Kingdom. Although much remains to be done, Brigadier Shahid Hamid has achieved far more than seemed possible when he took on the task less than two years ago."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dailyausaf.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1038591373-1687412066-1540449781.jpg.avif|title=Joint Service Commanders' Committee: Inter Services Intelligence Directorate|date=25 August 1950}}</ref>

Naval [[Commander]] [[Syed Mohammad Ahsan]], who served as Deputy Director [[Naval Intelligence of Pakistan]] and helped formulate ISI procedure, undertook and managed the recruitment and expansion of the ISI. After the [[1958 Pakistani coup d'état|1958 coup d'état]], all national intelligence agencies were directly controlled by the president and [[Chief Martial Law Administrator]]. The maintenance of national security, which was the principal function of these agencies, resulted in the consolidation of the Ayub regime. Any criticism of the regime was seen as a threat to national security.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Frederic |first=Grare |date=6 March 2009 |title=Reforming the Intelligence Agencies in Pakistan's Transitional Democracy |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2009/03/reforming-the-intelligence-agencies-in-pakistans-transitional-democracy?lang=en |url-status=live |access-date=7 July 2021 |website=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]] |archive-date=17 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217123321/https://carnegieendowment.org/2009/03/06/reforming-intelligence-agencies-in-pakistan-s-transitional-democracy-pub-22817 }}</ref>

The ISI is headquartered in Pakistan's capital, [[Islamabad]]. The complex consists of various low-rise buildings separated by lawns and fountains. The entrance to the complex is next to a private hospital. [[Declan Walsh (journalist)|Declan Walsh]] from [[The Guardian]] stated that the entrance is "suitably discreet: no sign, just a plainclothes officer packing a pistol who directs visitors through a chicane of barriers, soldiers, and sniffer dogs".<ref name="TNI" /> Walsh noted that the complex "resembles a well-funded private university" and that the buildings are "neatly tended," the lawns are "smooth," and the fountains are "tinkling." He described the central building, which houses the director general's office on the top floor, as "a modern structure with a round, echoing lobby".<ref name="Walshreally">{{Cite web |last=Walsh |first=Declan |date=12 May 2011 |title=Whose side is Pakistan's ISI really on? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/12/isi-bin-laden-death-pakistan-alqaida |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410210128/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/12/isi-bin-laden-death-pakistan-alqaida |archive-date=10 April 2021 |access-date=8 July 2021 |website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

On 5 July 1977 through [[Operation Fair Play]], the ISI began collecting intelligence on the [[Pakistan Communist Party]] and the [[Pakistan Peoples Party]].<ref name="ISI History 2">{{cite web|url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LANCER/idr00006.htm|title=ISI|access-date=12 May 2008|first=Bharat|last=rakshak|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704195306/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LANCER/idr00006.htm|archive-date=4 July 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The [[Soviet–Afghan War]] in the 1980s saw the enhancement of the ISI's [[covert operations]]. A special Afghanistan section known as the SS Directorate was created under the command of Brigadier Mohammed Yousaf to oversee day-to-day operations in Afghanistan. Officers from the ISI's [[Covert Action Division]] received training in the United States, and "many covert action experts of the CIA were attached to the ISI to guide it in its operations against Soviet troops by using the Afghan Mujahideen".<ref>{{Cite book |title=Pakistan Intelligence & Security Activities & Operations Handbook |publisher=USA International Business Publications |year=2009 |isbn= 978-1438737218 |pages=41}}</ref>

Many analysts (mainly Indian and American) believe that the ISI provides support to militant groups, though others think these allegations remain unsubstantiated.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/2011/05/ |title=Steve Coll: "Zawahiri's record suggests he will struggle" |work=[[Frontline (American TV program)|Frontline]] |publisher=[[PBS]] |date=2 May 2011 |access-date=17 December 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113140533/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/2011/05/coll-likely-bin-laden-successor-will-struggle.html |archive-date=13 November 2011 |df=dmy}}</ref><ref name="CSIS">{{Citation |last1=Cordesman |first1=Anthony H. |last2=Vira |first2=Varun |date=7 June 2011 |title=Pakistan: Violence vs. Stability — A National Net Assessment |publisher=[[Center for Strategic and International Studies]] |pages=183–184 |url=https://www.csis.org/analysis/pakistan-violence-vs-stability |place=Washington, DC |access-date=18 October 2016 |archive-date=22 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122153406/https://www.csis.org/analysis/pakistan-violence-vs-stability |url-status=live }}</ref>

The ISI has often been accused of playing a role in major [[terrorist attacks]] across India including [[Violence in Jammu and Kashmir|militancy in Kashmir]], the [[11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings|July 2006 Mumbai Train Bombings]],<ref>{{Cite news|date=2006-09-30|title=Pakistan 'role in Mumbai attacks'|language=en-GB|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5394686.stm|access-date=2021-09-22}}</ref> the [[2001 Indian Parliament attack]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=2001-12-17|title=Terrorist Attack on the Parliament of India - December 13, 2001|url=http://www.indianembassy.org/new/parliament_dec_13_01.htm#STATEMENT%20MADE%20BY%20HOME%20MINISTER,%20L.%20K.%20ADVANI%20ON%20THE%20TERRORIST%20ATTACK%20ON%20PARLIAMENT%20HOUSE%20ON%20DECEMBER%2013,%202001|access-date=2021-09-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011217035306/http://www.indianembassy.org/new/parliament_dec_13_01.htm#STATEMENT%20MADE%20BY%20HOME%20MINISTER,%20L.%20K.%20ADVANI%20ON%20THE%20TERRORIST%20ATTACK%20ON%20PARLIAMENT%20HOUSE%20ON%20DECEMBER%2013,%202001|archive-date=17 December 2001}}</ref> the [[2006 Varanasi bombings]], the [[25 August 2007 Hyderabad bombings|August 2007 Hyderabad bombings]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=John|first=Wilson|title=Hyderabad blasts: The ISI hand|url=https://www.rediff.com/news/2007/may/25guest.htm|access-date=2021-09-22|website=Rediff|language=en}}</ref> and the [[2008 Mumbai attacks]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=U.S. official: Indian attack has Pakistani ties|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna28015877|access-date=2021-09-22|website=NBC News|date=2 December 2008 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Syed|first=Baqir Sajjad|date=2008-12-06|title=Rice tells Pakistan to act 'or US will'|url=http://beta.dawn.com/news/333307/rice-tells-pakistan-to-act-or-us-will|access-date=2021-09-22|website=DAWN.COM|language=en}}</ref>

The ISI has been accused of supporting [[Taliban]] forces<ref name="Pakistan's shadowy secret service">{{Cite news|date=2006-10-09|title=Pakistan's shadowy secret service|language=en-GB|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6033383.stm|access-date=2021-09-22}}</ref> and recruiting and training [[mujahideen]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=2006-10-11|title=Telegraph {{!}} News {{!}} Nato's top brass accuse Pakistan over Taliban aid|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/06/wafghan06.xml|access-date=2021-09-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061011085504/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/06/wafghan06.xml|archive-date=11 October 2006}}</ref> to fight in Afghanistan<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gall|first=Carlotta|date=2007-01-21|title=At Border, Signs of Pakistani Role in Taliban Surge|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/world/asia/21quetta.html|access-date=2021-09-22|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and Kashmir. Based on communication interceptions, US intelligence agencies concluded Pakistan's ISI was behind the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul on 7 July 2008, a charge that the governments of India and Afghanistan had laid previously.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Mazzetti|first1=Mark|last2=Schmitt|first2=Eric|date=2008-08-01|title=Pakistanis Aided Attack in Kabul, U.S. Officials Say|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/world/asia/01pstan.html|access-date=2021-09-22|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> It is believed to be aiding these organisations in eradicating perceived enemies or those opposed to their cause, including India, Russia, China, [[Israel]], the [[United States]], the [[United Kingdom]], and other members of [[NATO]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-06-05|title=Profile: Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure) (a.k.a. Lashkar e-Tayyiba, Lashkar e-Toiba; Lashkar-i-Taiba) - Council on Foreign Relations|url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/17882/|access-date=2021-09-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605151918/http://www.cfr.org/publication/17882/|archive-date=5 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=2010-05-03|title=Profile: Lashkar-e-Taiba|language=en-GB|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3181925.stm|access-date=2021-09-22}}</ref> Satellite imagery from the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=2007-03-10|title=DNA - World - FBI identifies terror camp in Pakistan through satellite pictures - Daily News & Analysis|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1044850|access-date=2021-09-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310220755/http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1044850|archive-date=10 March 2007}}</ref> suggest the existence of several terrorist camps in Pakistan, with at least one militant admitting to being trained in the country. As part of the ongoing [[Kashmir conflict]], Pakistan is alleged to be backing separatist militias.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2007-09-30|title=Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_14-6-2005_pg1_4|access-date=2021-09-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930190536/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_14-6-2005_pg1_4|archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref> Many [[Nonpartisanism|nonpartisan]] sources believe that officials within Pakistan's military and the ISI sympathise with and aid [[Islamic terrorists]], saying that the "ISI has provided covert but well-documented support to terrorist groups active in Kashmir, including the [[al-Qaeda]] affiliate [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]]".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2006-07-18|title=Terrorism Havens: Pakistan - Council on Foreign Relations|url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/9514/|access-date=2021-09-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060718135741/http://www.cfr.org/publication/9514/|archive-date=18 July 2006}}</ref>

General [[Javed Nasir]] confessed to assisting the [[Bosnian War|besieged]] Bosnian Muslims, supporting [[Chinese Muslims]] in [[Xinjiang]] despite a UN arms embargo, rebel Muslim groups in the Philippines, and some religious groups in [[Central Asia]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FHKsBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA148|title=Pakistan's Drift Into Extremism: Allah, the Army, and America's War on Terror|last=Abbas|first=Hassan|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2015|isbn=978-1-317-46328-3|pages=148|quote=Javed Nasir confesses that despite the U.N. ban on supplying arms to the besieged Bosnians, he successfully airlifted sophisticated anti-tank guided missiles which turned the tide in favor of Bosnian Muslims and forced the Serbs to lift the siege. Under his leadership, the ISI also got involved in supporting Chinese Muslims in Xinjiang Province, rebel Muslim groups in the Philippines, and some religious groups in Central Asia.}}</ref> The [[National Intelligence Coordination Committee (Pakistan)|National Intelligence Coordination Committee (NICC)]] of Pakistan is headed by the [[Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence]]. The overarching intelligence coordination body was given assent by the [[Prime Minister of Pakistan]] in November 2020. It held its inaugural session on 24 June 2021, marking the date the committee became functional.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Syed |first=Baqir Sajjad |date=2020-11-24 |title=PM okays creation of liaison body for spy agencies |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1592030 |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref>

== Organizational structure ==
A director-general, who is traditionally a serving lieutenant general in the Pakistan Army,{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} heads the ISI.<ref name="govt notify">{{Cite web|last=Raza|first=Syed Irfan|date=2021-10-14|title=Crisis lingers as govt yet to notify new ISI chief|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1651915|access-date=2021-10-14|website=DAWN.COM|language=en}}</ref>  Three deputy director generals, who are serving two-star military officers, report directly to the director general with each deputy heading three wings respectively:<ref>Shuja Nawaz. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shuja-nawaz/focusing-the-spy-glass-on_b_131153.html "Focusing the Spy Glass on Pakistan's ISI"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210150827/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shuja-nawaz/focusing-the-spy-glass-on_b_131153.html |date=10 December 2008}} ''The Huffington Post'', 2 October 2008</ref>
* Internal Wing – responsible for domestic intelligence, domestic [[counter-intelligence]], counter-espionage, and counter-terrorism.
* External Wing – responsible for external intelligence, external counter-intelligence, and espionage.
* Foreign Relations Wing – responsible for diplomatic intelligence and foreign relations intelligence.

Military officers of the three branches of the [[Pakistan Armed Forces]] and paramilitary forces such as [[Anti-Narcotics Force|ANF]], [[Airports Security Force|ASF]], [[Pakistan Rangers]], [[Frontier Corps]], [[Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts]] and [[Pakistan Maritime Security Agency|Maritime Security Agency]] as well as civilian officers from the [[Federal Investigation Agency]] (FIA), [[Federal Board of Revenue (Pakistan)|Federal Board of Revenue]] (FBR), [[Pakistan Customs]], [[Law enforcement in Pakistan|Police]], [[Pakistani judiciary|Judiciary]] and [[Ministry of Defence (Pakistan)|Ministry of Defence]] make up ISI's general staff. They are recruited on deputations for three to four years and enhance the ISI's professional competence. According to some experts, the ISI is the largest intelligence agency in the world in terms of total staff. While the total number has never been made public, experts estimate around 10,000 officers and staff, which does not include informants or assets.<ref name="FAS">{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/world/pakistan/isi/ |title=Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence |publisher=[[Federation of American Scientists]] |author=Pike, John |date=25 July 2002 |access-date=13 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515131913/http://www.fas.org/irp/world/pakistan/isi/ |archive-date=15 May 2008 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref>

=== Directorates ===
The wings are further divided into various directorates, which are sub-divided into departments, each directorate is usually headed by a [[major general]], [[air marshal]], or [[rear admiral]].
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Directorates
|-
|Director-General, Security and Administration (DG S&A)
|-
|Director-General Analysis (DG A)
|-
|Director-General H (DG H)
|-
|Director-General Counter-Terrorism (DG CT)
|-
|Director-General Personnel (DG P)
|-
|Director-General, K (DG K)
|-
|Director-General X (DG X)
|-
|Director-General, F (DG F)
|-
|Director-General, Technical (DG T)
|-
|Director-General, Counter Intelligence (DG CI)
|-
|Director-General, Media (DG M)
|}

===Departments===
* [[Covert Action Division]]: Its roles are similar to the [[Special Activities Division]] of the CIA and a handful of officers are trained by that division. The division has been active since the 1960s.<ref name="Lancer Publishers & Distributors">{{cite book|last=Raman|first=B.|title=Intelligence : past, present & future|year=2002|publisher=Lancer Publishers & Distributors|location=New Delhi|isbn=8170622220|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mTf1vRYx_U4C&pg=PA46|access-date=15 November 2015|archive-date=10 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410043516/https://books.google.com/books?id=mTf1vRYx_U4C&pg=PA46|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Joint Intelligence X: Coordinates the other departments in the ISI.<ref name="FAS" />  Intelligence and information gathered from the other departments are sent to JIX which prepares and processes the information and from there prepares reports which are presented.
* Joint Intelligence Bureau: Responsible for gathering anti-state intelligence and fake drugs, fake currency, and TTP.<ref name="FAS" />
* Joint Counterintelligence Bureau: Focused on foreign intelligence agencies.
* Joint Intelligence North: Exclusively responsible for the [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] region and [[Gilgit-Baltistan]].<ref name="FAS" />
* Joint Intelligence Miscellaneous: Responsible for espionage, including offensive intelligence operations, in other countries.<ref name="FAS" />
* Joint Signal Intelligence Bureau: Operates intelligence collections along the India-Pakistan border.<ref name="FAS" /> The JSIB is the [[ELINT]], [[COMINT]], and [[SIGINT]] directorate that is charged with diverting attacks from foreign non-communications [[electromagnetic radiation]]s emanating from sources other than nuclear detonations or radioactive sources.<ref name="FAS" />
* Joint Intelligence Technical: Deals with development of science and technology to advance Pakistani intelligence gathering. The directorate is charged with taking steps against [[electronic warfare]] attacks in Pakistan.<ref name="FAS" /> Without any exception, officers from this division are reported to be engineer officers and military scientists who deal with the military [[Military funding of science|promotion of science]] and technology.<ref name="FAS" /> There are also separate explosives and [[Chemical warfare|chemical]] and [[biological warfare]] sections.<ref name="FAS" />
* SS Directorate: Comprises officers from the Special Services Group. It monitors the activities of terrorist groups that operate against Pakistan. It is comparable to the FBI and the [[National Clandestine Service]] (NCS), and is responsible for special operations against terrorists.
* Political Internal Division: Monitors the financial funding of the [[Islam in Pakistan|right-wing]] political science sphere against [[Socialism in Pakistan|left-wing]] political science circles. This department was involved in providing funds to anti-left wing forces during the general elections of [[1965 Pakistani presidential election|1965]], [[1977 Pakistani general election|1977]], [[Movement for Restoration of Democracy|1985]], [[1988 Pakistani general election|1988]], and [[1990 Pakistani general election|1990]].<ref>[http://tribune.com.pk/story/351366/the-political-role-of-the-isi/ ISI funded political parties] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320170353/http://tribune.com.pk/story/351366/the-political-role-of-the-isi/ |date=20 March 2012 }}. Tribune.com.pk. Retrieved on 24 August 2012.</ref> The department has been inactive since March 2012 with the new director general taking operational charge of the ISI.<ref>[http://www.awamipolitics.com/isi-political-cell-temporary-suspended-4236.html Political wing in ISI] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403171108/http://www.awamipolitics.com/isi-political-cell-temporary-suspended-4236.html |date=3 April 2012 }}. Awamipolitics.com (1 April 2012). Retrieved on 2012-08-24.</ref>

===Director generals===
{{Main|Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence}}

The Director General of the ISI is among the most powerful posts in Pakistan.<ref name="govt notify" /> For example, according to Mohammad Sohail, shares at the [[Pakistan Stock Exchange]] went down in October 2021 over concerns regarding the appointment of the ISI chief. The benchmark KSE-100 index fell 1.51%.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Pakistan stocks end in red on Wednesday amid ISI chief appointment controversy|url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/business/pakistan-stocks-end-in-red-on-wednesday-amid-isi-chief-appointment-controversy|access-date=2021-10-14|website=Free Press Journal|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Reporter|first=The Newspaper's Staff|date=2021-10-14|title=Stocks tumble 661 points on political noise|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1651902|access-date=2021-10-14|website=DAWN.COM|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Editorial|date=15 October 2021|title=Confusion galore|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/900372-confusion-galore|access-date=2021-10-15|website=www.thenews.com.pk|language=en|quote=Editorial quote:"With the markets constantly in flux over the past few days, the people of the country wonder whether their fates are in fact linked to the signing of a summary or notification"}}</ref> According to retired air marshal Shahzad Chaudhry, three to four names are provided by the [[Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan)|Chief of Army Staff]], and the prime minister selects the director general from that list,<ref name="spymaster">{{Cite web|last=Chaudhry|first=Urooj Imran {{!}} Sana|date=2021-10-13|title=What is the process of appointing Pakistan's spymaster?|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1651789|access-date=2021-10-14|website=DAWN.COM|language=en}}</ref> and the appointed serves for two to three years.<ref name="spymaster" /> Before 2021, the appointment process of the Director-General followed no formal protocol other than verbal discussion between the Prime Minister and the head of the army.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Abbasi|first=Ansar|date=15 October 2021|title=An undiscussed angle of mess surrounding DG ISI's appointment|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/900481-an-undiscussed-angle-of-mess-surrounding-dg-isi-s-appointment|access-date=2021-10-15|website=www.thenews.com.pk|language=en}}</ref>

[[Walter Cawthorn]] was the first head of the ISI. His successor, [[Syed Shahid Hamid]] is said to have supported [[Ayub Khan]]'s rise to power.<ref name="Pakistan ISI">{{Cite journal|last=Shaffer|first=Ryan|date=2017-02-02|title=Faith, unity, discipline: the Inter-Service-Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan, by Hein G. Kiessling, Noida, India, Harper Collins, 2016, ISBN 9351777960|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16161262.2017.1286447|journal=Journal of Intelligence History|volume=16|issue=2|pages=|doi=10.1080/16161262.2017.1286447|s2cid=164905274|issn=1616-1262|url-access=subscription}}</ref> After his retirement, he helped President [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq|Muhammed Zia-ul-Haq]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2011-10-23|title=Obituary: Maj-Gen Syed Shahid Hamid|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-majgen-syed-shahid-hamid-1497723.html|access-date=2021-10-17|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan=2|Director General
!Start of term
!End of term
|-
|1
|[[Major General]]
'''[[Walter Cawthorn]]'''
|January 1948
|June 1948
|-
|2
|[[Brigadier]]
'''[[Syed Shahid Hamid]]'''<ref name="HK">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y_cgDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT22|title=Faith, Unity, Discipline|year=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-1-84904-863-7 }}</ref><br>[[Hilal-e-Jurat|HJ]] 
|14 July 1948
|22 August 1950
|-
|3
|[[Brigadier]]
'''[[Mirza Hamid Hussain]]'''<ref name="HK"/>
|23 August 1950
|May 1951
|-
|4
|[[Colonel]]
'''Muhammad Afzal Malik'''<ref name="HK"/>
|May 1951
|April 1953
|-
|5
|[[Brigadier]]
'''[[Syed Ghawas]]'''<ref name="HK"/>
|April 1953
|August 1955
|-
|6
|[[Brigadier]]<ref name="HK"/>
'''Sher Bahadur'''
|August 1955
|September 1957
|-
|7
|[[Brigadier]]<ref name="HK"/>
'''Muhammad Hayat'''
|September 1957
|October 1959
|-
|8
|[[Brigadier]]{{ref|a}}
'''[[Riaz Hussain (general)|Riaz Hussain]]'''<ref name="HK"/>
|October 1959
|May 1966
|-
|9
|[[Major General]]
'''Muhammed Akbar Khan'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.brownpundits.com/2016/10/25/general-mohammed-akbar-khan/|title=General Mohammed Akbar Khan (and some others)|date=25 October 2016 }}</ref>
|May 1966
|September 1971
|-
|10
|[[Major General]]{{ref|b}}
'''[[Ghulam Jilani Khan]]'''
|September 1971<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_S-TDAAAQBAJ&dq=dg+isi+akbar&pg=PA85|title=Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate|page=85|year=2016|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-19609-9 }}</ref>
|16 September 1978<ref name="Zaheer18">{{Cite web|title=Lt. Gen Zaheer is 18th DG ISI since 1959|url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/41129-lt.-gen-zaheer-is-18th-dg-isi-since-1959|access-date=2021-04-04|website=www.geo.tv|language=en}}</ref>
|-
|11
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Muhammad Riaz Khan]]'''
|17 September 1978
|20 June 1979
|-
|12
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Akhtar Abdur Rahman]]'''<br>{{Post-nominals|country=PAK|NI(M)|HI(M)}}
|21 June 1979 
|29 March 1987
|-
|13
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Hamid Gul]]'''<br>{{Post-nominals|country=PAK|HI(M)|SBt}}
|29 March 1987
|29 May 1989
|-
|14
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Shamsur Rahman Kallu]]'''<br>{{Post-nominals|country=PAK|HI(M)|TBt}}
|30 May 1989
|August 1990
|-
|15
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Asad Durrani]]'''<br>{{Post-nominals|country=PAK|HI(M)}}
|August 1990
|13 March 1992
|-
|16
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Javed Nasir]]'''<br>{{Post-nominals|country=PAK|HI(M)|SBt}}
|14 March 1992
|13 May 1993
|-
|17
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Javed Ashraf Qazi]]'''<br />{{Post-nominals|country=PAK|HI(M)|SBt}}
|14 May 1993
|October 1995
|-
|18
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''Naseem Rana'''
|October 1995
|October 1998<ref name="Zaheer18" />
|-
|19
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Ziauddin Butt]]'''<br />{{Post-nominals|country=PAK|HI(M)}}
|October 1998
|12 October 1999
|-
|20
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Mahmud Ahmed]]'''<br>{{Post-nominals|country=PAK|HI(M)}}
|20 October 1999
|7 October 2001
|-
|21
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Ehsan ul Haq]]'''<br>{{Post-nominals|country=PAK|HI(M)}}
|7 October 2001
|5 October 2004
|-
|22
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Ashfaq Parvez Kayani]]'''<br>{{Post-nominals|country=PAK|HI(M)|SI(M)|TI(M)}}
|5 October 2004 
|8 October 2007
|-
|23
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Nadeem Taj]]'''<br>{{Post-nominals|country=PAK|HI(M)|TBt}}
|9 October 2007
|29 September 2008
|-
|24
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Ahmad Shuja Pasha]]'''<br>{{Post-nominals|country=PAK|HI(M)|Tbt}}
|1 October 2008
|18 March 2012
|-
|25
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Zaheerul Islam]]'''<br>{{Post-nominals|country=PAK|HI(M)|Tbt}}
|19 March 2012
|7 November 2014
|-
|26
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Rizwan Akhtar]]'''
|7 November 2014
|11 December 2016
|-
|27
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Naveed Mukhtar]]'''
|11 December 2016 
|25 October 2018
|-
|28
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Asim Munir (general)|Asim Munir]]'''<br>{{Post-nominals|country=PAK|HI(M)|Tbt}}
|25 October 2018 
|16 June 2019
|-
|29
|[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Faiz Hameed]]'''<br>{{Post-nominals|country=PAK|HI(M)|Tbt}}
|17 June 2019
|19 November 2021
|-
|30
| [[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Nadeem Anjum]]'''<ref name=TNI>{{cite news|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/898272-isi-gets-its-25th-chief-the-saga-of-premier-intelligence-agency|title=ISI gets its 25th chief: The saga of premier intelligence agency|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 November 2021|author=Sabir Shah|date=7 October 2021|newspaper=The News International newspaper|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130205052/https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/898272-isi-gets-its-25th-chief-the-saga-of-premier-intelligence-agency|access-date=21 June 2025}}</ref> 
| 20 November 2021
| 29 September 2024
|-
|31
| style="background:#e6e6aa;" |[[Lieutenant General (Pakistan)|Lieutenant General]]
'''[[Asim Malik]]'''
| style="background:#e6e6aa;" |30 September 2024
| style="background:#e6e6aa;" | Incumbent
|}

== Recruitment and training ==
Both civilians and members of the armed forces can join the ISI. For civilians, recruitment is advertised and handled by both the [[Federal Public Services Commission]] (FPSC); they are considered employees of the Ministry of Defence. The FPSC conducts examinations that test the candidate's knowledge of current affairs, English, and various analytical abilities. Based on the results, the FPSC shortlists the candidates and sends the list to the ISI who conduct the initial background checks. Selected candidates are then invited for an interview which is conducted by a joint committee comprising both ISI and FPSC officials, and are then sent to the Defence Services Intelligence Academy (DSIA) for six months of training. The candidates are transferred to different sections for open source information where they serve for five years. After five years of basic service, officers are entrusted with sensitive jobs and considered part of the core team.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How to Join isi Pakistan |url=https://soldiers.pk/join-inter-services-intelligence-isi-pakistan/ |url-status=live |access-date=8 July 2021 |website=soldiers.pk |date=11 June 2017 |archive-date=5 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305224014/https://soldiers.pk/join-inter-services-intelligence-isi-pakistan/ }}</ref>

==Operations==

===By country===

====Afghanistan====
{{Main|Inter-Services Intelligence activities in Afghanistan}}

* 1982–1997: ISI is believed to have had access to [[Osama bin Laden]] in the past.<ref name="Telegraph1">{{cite news |last=West |first=Julian |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/1341405/Pakistans-godfathers-of-the-Taliban-hold-the-key-to-hunt-for-bin-Laden.html |title=Pakistan's 'godfathers of the Taliban' hold the key to hunt for bin Laden |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|Telegraph]] |date=23 September 2001 |access-date=9 April 2011 |location=London |archive-date=5 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605054508/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/1341405/Pakistans-godfathers-of-the-Taliban-hold-the-key-to-hunt-for-bin-Laden.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Coll, S. (2004). ''Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001''. Penguin.</ref> B. Raman, former [[Research and Analysis Wing]] (R&AW) officer, claims that the Central Intelligence Agency through the ISI promoted the smuggling of heroin into Afghanistan to turn Soviet troops into heroin addicts and thus greatly reduce their fighting potential.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acsa.net/isi/index.html|title=Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)|access-date=5 May 2006|first=B|last=Raman|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913194009/http://www.acsa.net/isi/index.html|archive-date=13 September 2012}}</ref>
* 1986: Worrying that among the large influx of [[Afghan refugees]] who had come into Pakistan because of the Soviet–Afghan War were members of [[KHAD]] (Afghan Intelligence), the ISI convinced Mansoor Ahmed, who was the [[chargé d'affaires]] of the Afghan embassy in Islamabad, to turn his back on the Soviet-backed Afghan government. He and his family were secretly escorted out of their residence and given safe passage on a London-bound British Airways flight in exchange for classified information in regard to Afghan agents in Pakistan. The Soviet and Afghan diplomats did not find his family.<ref name="Profiles of Intelligence">{{cite book |author=Brigadier Syed A. I. Tirmazi |title=Profiles of Intelligence |publisher=Combined Printers |year=1985 |id=Library of Congress Catalogue No. 95-930455}}</ref>
* 1990: According to [[Peter Tomsen]], the United States [[Special Envoy]] to Afghanistan, neighboring Pakistan had tried to bring [[Gulbuddin Hekmatyar]] to power in Afghanistan against the opposition of all other mujahideen commanders and factions as early as 1990.<ref name="Tomsen">{{cite book|last=Tomsen|first=Peter|title=The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and the Failures of Great Powers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Dz9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA405|year=2011|publisher=[[Public Affairs Press]]|isbn=978-1-58648-763-8|pages=405–408|access-date=25 December 2017|archive-date=27 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200427103700/https://books.google.com/books?id=_Dz9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA405|url-status=live}}</ref> In October 1990, the ISI had devised a plan for Hekmatyar to conduct a mass bombardment of the Afghan capital [[Kabul]], then still under communist rule, with possible Pakistani troop reinforcements.<ref name="Tomsen" /> This unilateral ISI-Hekmatyar plan was carried out, though the thirty most-important mujahideen commanders had agreed to hold a conference inclusive of all Afghan groups to decide on a common future strategy.<ref name="Tomsen" /> The United States finally put pressure on Pakistan to stop the 1990 plan, which was subsequently called off until 1992.<ref name="Tomsen" />
* 1994: Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf admitted to supporting the Taliban until 9/11.<ref name="Human Rights Watch">{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/afghan2/Afghan0701-02.htm |title=Pakistan's support of the taliban |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |year=2000 |access-date=4 December 2016 |archive-date=21 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621035209/https://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/afghan2/Afghan0701-02.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Pakistani Afghanistan expert [[Ahmed Rashid]], "between 1994 and 1999, an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 Pakistanis trained and fought in Afghanistan" on the side of the Taliban.<ref name="Maley">{{cite book|last=Maley|first=William|title=The Afghanistan wars|year=2009|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=978-0-230-21313-5|page=288}}</ref>
* 2008: Militants attacked the Indian Consulate General in Jalalabad in 2007. According to Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security, individuals arrested by the Afghan government stated that the ISI was behind the attack and had given them ₹120,000 for the operation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=PTI |date=12 May 2011 |title=ISI behind plot to target Indian Consulate |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/report/plot-to-attack-jalalabad-consulate-worrisome-says-pm/20110512.htm |url-status=live |access-date=8 July 2021 |website=reddif.com |archive-date=13 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313090203/https://www.rediff.com/news/report/plot-to-attack-jalalabad-consulate-worrisome-says-pm/20110512.htm }}</ref>
* 2001 onwards: American officials believe members of the Pakistani intelligence service are alerting militants to imminent American missile strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Taintor |first=David |date=7 October 2014 |title=Panetta explains why US didn't alert Pakistan of bin Laden raid |url=https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/panetta-explains-why-us-didnt-alert-pakistan-bin-laden-raid-msna430086 |url-status=live |access-date=8 July 2021 |website=[[MSNBC]] |archive-date=17 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317004657/https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/panetta-explains-why-us-didnt-alert-pakistan-bin-laden-raid-msna430086 }}</ref>  In October 2009, Davood Moradian, a senior policy adviser to foreign minister [[Rangeen Dadfar Spanta]], said the British and American governments were fully aware of the ISI's role but lacked the courage to confront Islamabad. He claimed that the Afghan government had given British and American intelligence agents evidence that proved ISI involvement in bombings.<ref>{{cite news |last=Nelson |first=Dean |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/6338349/Pakistans-ISI-still-supporting-the-Taliban-say-Afghans.html |title=Pakistan's ISI still supporting the Taliban, say Afghans&nbsp;– Pakistan's intelligence agency is directing Taliban attacks on Western targets in Afghanistan, Davood Moradian, a senior government official has claimed |work=Telegraph |date=15 October 2009 |access-date=9 April 2011 |location=London |archive-date=20 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220190048/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/6338349/Pakistans-ISI-still-supporting-the-Taliban-say-Afghans.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 2010: A new report by the [[London School of Economics]] (LSE) claimed to provide the most concrete evidence that the ISI is providing funding, training, and sanctuary to the [[Taliban insurgency]] on a scale much larger than previously thought. The report's author, Matt Waldman, spoke to nine Taliban field commanders in Afghanistan and concluded that Pakistan's relationship with the insurgents ran far deeper than previously realised. Some of those interviewed suggested that the organisation even attended meetings of the Taliban's supreme council, the [[Quetta Shura]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/south_asia/10302946.stm |title=Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency 'supports' Taliban |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=13 June 2010 |access-date=9 April 2011 |archive-date=17 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617073244/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/south_asia/10302946.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7149089.ece "Pakistan puppet masters guide the Taliban killers"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512184639/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7149089.ece |date=12 May 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Burch |first=Jonathon |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65C06620100613 |title=Report slams Pakistan for meddling in Afghanistan |publisher=[[Reuters.com]] |date=13 June 2010 |access-date=9 April 2011 |archive-date=18 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618042319/http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65C06620100613 |url-status=live }}</ref> A spokesman for the Pakistani military dismissed the report, describing it as "malicious".<ref>{{cite news |author=the CNN Wire Staff |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/06/13/afghanistan.taliban.isi/ |title=New report on Pakistan connections with Taliban dismissed by military |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=14 June 2010 |access-date=9 April 2011 |archive-date=21 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121084842/http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/06/13/afghanistan.taliban.isi/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/Pakistan_Denies_Supporting_Taliban/2070224.html |title=Pakistan Denies Supporting Taliban |publisher=Rferl.org |date=14 June 2010 |access-date=9 April 2011 |archive-date=22 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122125943/http://www.rferl.org/content/Pakistan_Denies_Supporting_Taliban/2070224.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[[n:Pakistan's intelligence agency said to support Taliban|"Pakistan's intelligence agency said to support Taliban"]]</ref> General [[David Petraeus]], commander of the US Central Command, refused to endorse this report in a US congressional hearing and suggested that any contacts between ISI and extremists are for legitimate intelligence purposes; in his words, "you have to have contact with bad guys to get intelligence on bad guys".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Iqbal |first=Anwar |date=19 June 2010 |title=Ties with bad guys help get bad guys: Gen Petraeus  |url=http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/ties-with-bad-guys-help-get-bad-guys-us-960 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620234943/http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/ties-with-bad-guys-help-get-bad-guys-us-960 |archive-date=20 June 2010 |access-date=8 July 2021}}</ref>
* 2021: The [[Fall of Kabul (2021)|Fall of Kabul]] was seen as a major strategic victory for ISI that has long been seeking a pro-Pakistan government in [[Kabul]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-08-25 |title=A Win for Pakistan? |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/us-afghanistan-troop-withdrawal_win-pakistan/6209957.html |access-date=2024-03-25 |website=Voice of America |language=en}}</ref> The ISI has always aspired to see Islamists as the rulers of Afghanistan. The rise of [[Taliban]] in Kabul was considered as an achievement for ISI's [[strategic depth]] in Afghanistan.
* 2021: It was reported that ISI mediated talks between different factions of [[Taliban]] on the power sharing. ISI ensured [[Haqqani network|Haqqani Network]] holds lion's share in the Taliban's [[Cabinet of Afghanistan]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-09-05 |title=Who is ISI chief Faiz Hameed whose visit to Kabul has sparked controversy? |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/who-is-isi-chief-faiz-hameed-whose-visit-to-kabul-has-sparked-controversy-101630843177941.html |access-date=2023-12-11 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref>

====Bosnia====
{{Main|Inter-Services Intelligence activities in Bosnia}}

* 1993: The ISI was involved in supplying arms to the Bosnian mujahideen in Bosnia-Herzegovina to prevent a total genocide of Muslims at the hands of the Serbs.<ref name="Hussain2008">{{citation |last=Hussain |first=Zahid |title=Frontline Pakistan: The Struggle with Militant Islam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cD36RbtSKNkC&pg=PA27 |date=2008 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=978-0-231-14225-0 |page=27 |access-date=19 October 2016 |archive-date=10 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410034836/https://books.google.com/books?id=cD36RbtSKNkC&pg=PA27 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====India====
{{Main|Inter-Services Intelligence activities in India}}

Indian intelligence agencies have claimed they have proof of ISI involvement with the [[Naxalites]]. ISI is also reportedly engaged in supporting Khalistani Separatism in India.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-20 |title=Amritpal Singh trained by ISI in Georgia, linked to SFJ: Intel |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/amritpal-singh-trained-by-isi-in-georgia-linked-to-sfjintel-101679318471953.html |access-date=2023-03-21 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref> A classified report accessed by the Indian newspaper ''[[Asian Age]]'' said "the ISI in particular wants Naxals to cause large-scale damage to infrastructure projects and industrial units operating in the interior parts of the country where ISI's own terror network is non-existent".<ref name="Sharma">{{cite news|last=Sharma|first=Rajnish|title=Intel reveals ISI-Naxal link|url=http://www.asianage.com/india/intel-reveals-isi-naxal-link-583 |newspaper=[[Asian Age]]|date=1 March 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406125840/http://www.asianage.com/india/intel-reveals-isi-naxal-link-583|archive-date=6 April 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* 1965: The [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]] in Kashmir provoked a major crisis in intelligence. When the war began, there was a complete collapse of operations across all intelligence agencies. They were unable to locate an Indian armored division because of their preoccupation with political affairs. [[Ayub Khan (general)|Ayub Khan]] set up a committee headed by General [[Yahya Khan]] to examine the agencies' workings.<ref name="acsa2000.net">{{cite web|url=http://www.acsa2000.net/isi/index.html |title=Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence(ISI) |work=acsa2000.net |access-date=26 July 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415112807/http://www.acsa2000.net/isi/index.html |archive-date=15 April 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
* 1969–1974: According to Indian spymaster [[B. Raman]], the Central Intelligence Agency and ISI worked with the [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]] administration to assist the [[Khalistan]] movement in [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]].<ref name="South Asia Analysis Group">{{cite web|url=http://www.saag.org/papers3/paper287.html|title=Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) |first=B. |last=Raman |publisher=South Asia Analysis Group |date=1 August 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060412012106/http://www.saag.org/papers3/paper287.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 12 April 2006}}</ref>
* 1980: An Indian agent captured by the PAF Field Intelligence Unit in Karachi said the leader of the spy ring was being headed by the food and beverages manager at the Intercontinental Hotel in Karachi and a number of serving Air Force officers and ratings were on his payroll. The ISI decided to question the manager to see who he was in contact with, but the former president of Pakistan, Zia-ul-Haq, intervened and wanted the manager and anyone else involved in the case arrested immediately. The manager was proven completely innocent afterwards.<ref name="Profiles of Intelligence" />
* 1983: Ilam Din, also known as Ilmo, was an Indian spy working in Pakistan who had eluded capture multiple times. On 23&nbsp;March at 3:00&nbsp;a.m., Ilmo and two other Indian spies were apprehended by Pakistani Rangers as they illegally crossed into Pakistan from India. Their mission was to spy and report back on the new military equipment that Pakistan would be showing in their annual 23 March [[Pakistan Day Parade]]. After being thoroughly interrogated, ISI forced Ilmo to send false information to his [[Research and Analysis Wing]] handlers in India. This process continued and many more Indian spies in Pakistan, such as Roop Lal, were discovered.<ref name="Profiles of Intelligence" />
* 1984: ISI uncovered a secret deal in which Indian prime minister [[Indira Gandhi]] granted naval base facilities to the USSR in Vizag and the [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], and the alleged attachment of [[KGB]] advisers to then-Lieutenant General Sunderji who was the commander of [[Operation Blue Star]] in the Golden Temple in [[Amritsar]] in June 1984.<ref name="South Asia Analysis Group" />
* 1984: ISI failed to perform a proper background check on the British company which supplied the Pakistan Army with its Arctic-weather gear. When Pakistan attempted to secure the top of the [[Siachen Glacier]] in 1984, it placed a large order for Arctic-weather gear with the same company that also supplied the [[Indian Army]] with its gear. The Indians were alerted to the large Pakistani purchase and deduced that this large purchase could be used to equip troops to capture the [[glacier]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1079528,00.html |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |title=War at the Top of the World |page=2 |date=4 May 2005 |author=McGirk, Tim |author2=Adiga, Aravind |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220233035/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C1079528%2C00.html |archive-date=20 December 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> India mounted[[Operation Meghdoot]] and captured the entire glacier.
* 1988: The ISI implemented [[Operation Tupac]], a three-part action plan for covertly supporting Kashmiri militants in their fight against Indian authorities in [[Kashmir]], initiated by President Zia-ul-Haq in 1988 <ref>Juan Cole, [http://www.salon.com/2008/12/12/pakistan_7/ Does Obama understand his biggest foreign-policy challenge?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323103257/http://www.salon.com/2008/12/12/pakistan_7/ |date=23 March 2017 }}, Salon, 12 December 2008, Retrieved 16 October 2016</ref> After the success of Operation Tupac, support of Kashmiri militants became Pakistan's state policy.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4416771.stm |publisher=BBC News |title=Why Pakistan is 'boosting Kashmir militants' |date=3 March 2010 |access-date=9 May 2010 |archive-date=28 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228011213/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4416771.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> ISI is widely believed to train and support militancy in the Kashmir region.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/world/pakistan/isi/ |title=Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI&#93;&nbsp;– Pakistan Intelligence Agencies |publisher=Fas.org |access-date=9 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611053322/https://fas.org/irp/world/pakistan/isi/ |archive-date=11 June 2014 |df=dmy}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/5388426.stm |publisher=BBC News |title=Key quotes from the document |date=28 September 2006 |access-date=9 May 2010 |archive-date=1 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100801004530/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/5388426.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BBC1">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4416771.stm Why Pakistan is 'boosting Kashmir militants'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228011213/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4416771.stm |date=28 February 2017 }}, [[BBC]], 3 March 2010</ref>
* 2014: In February (disclosed in March 2015), the then-Indian chief of army staff General Bikram Singh issued orders to deploy troops along the borders with Pakistan in the Rajasthan and Jammu-Kashmir regions, but the ISI got the information in a few hours and in reaction the Pakistan Army deployed its troops near the Indian borders, which alarmed Indian authorities.<ref>{{Cite web |title='Indian troop deployment plan leaked to Pakistan last year'  |url=https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2015/03/05/indian-troop-deployment-plan-leaked-to-pakistan-last-year/amp/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716000523/https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2015/03/05/indian-troop-deployment-plan-leaked-to-pakistan-last-year/amp/ |archive-date=16 July 2020 |access-date=8 July 2021 |website=pakistantoday.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Exclusive: Indian Army movement plans leaked to ISI last year |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/north/story/isi-mole-indian-army-movement-pakistan-bikram-singh-antony-242731-2015-03-02 |url-status=live |access-date=8 July 2021 |website=[[India Today]] |date=2 March 2015 |archive-date=14 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614125124/https://www.indiatoday.in/india/north/story/isi-mole-indian-army-movement-pakistan-bikram-singh-antony-242731-2015-03-02 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=4 March 2015 |title=Indian troop deployment plan leaked to ISI within hours |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/11201-indian-troop-deployment-plan-leaked-to-isi-within-hours |url-status=live |access-date=8 July 2021 |website=thenews.com |archive-date=1 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801204635/https://www.thenews.com.pk/amp/11201-indian-troop-deployment-plan-leaked-to-isi-within-hours }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Revealed: Indian Army plans were leaked to Pakistan's ISI in 2014 |url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/revealed-indian-army-plans-were-leaked-to-pakistan-isi-in-2014-48131.html |url-status=live |access-date=8 July 2021 |website=indiatvnews.com |date=3 March 2015 |archive-date=1 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801214928/https://www.indiatvnews.com/amp/news/india/revealed-indian-army-plans-were-leaked-to-pakistan-isi-in-2014-48131.html }}</ref>
: 2016: Home Minister Balochistan, Pakistan, [[Sarfraz Bugti]] stated on 26 March that a serving Indian Naval officer, [[Kulbhushan Jadhav|Kulbhushan Yadav]], was arrested in Balochistan by the ISI.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/1072455/terror-purge-forces-nab-indian-spy-in-balochistan/|title='RAW officer' arrested in Balochistan|work=[[The Express Tribune]]|date=24 March 2016|access-date=14 April 2016|archive-date=28 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328025130/http://tribune.com.pk/story/1072455/terror-purge-forces-nab-indian-spy-in-balochistan/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Pakistan====
The ISI was accused of being involved in the [[Mehrangate|Mehran bank scandal]], in which high-ranking ISI and Army officers were allegedly given large sums of money by Yunus Habib, owner of the Mehran Bank, to deposit the ISI's foreign exchange reserves in his bank.<ref name="Ghazali">{{cite web |url=http://www.ghazali.net/book1/Chapter11a/body_page_4.html |title=ISLAMIC PAKISTAN: ILLUSIONS & REALITY |website=ghazali.net |access-date=5 May 2006 |first=Abdus Sattar |last=Ghazali |archive-date=15 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060715170345/http://www.ghazali.net/book1/Chapter11a/body_page_4.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1980: The ISI became aware of a plot to assassinate Zia-ul-Haq and launch a coup to depose replace the government with an Islamic one. The attempted assassination and coup were planned for 23&nbsp;March 1980, during the annual 23&nbsp;March Pakistan Day Parade. The masterminds behind the coup were high-ranking military and intelligence officers, and were led by Major General Tajammal Hussain Malik; his son Captain Naveed; and his nephew Major Riaz, a former military intelligence officer. The ISI decided against arresting the men outright because they did not know how deep the conspiracy went, and kept them under strict surveillance. As the date of the annual parade approached, the ISI was satisfied that it had identified the major players in the conspiracy and arrested the men along with some high-ranking military officers.<ref name="Profiles of Intelligence" />
* 1985: The ISI's Internal Political Division was accused by various members of the Pakistan People's Party of assassinating [[Shahnawaz Bhutto]], one of [[Benazir Bhutto]]'s two brothers, by poisoning in the [[French Riviera]] in the middle of 1985 as an attempt to intimidate her into not returning to Pakistan to direct the movement against Zia-ul-Haq's military government, but no proof has been found implicating the ISI.<ref name="South Asia Analysis Group" />
* 1987: The ISI failed to prevent the [[KHAD]]/[[KGB]] terror campaign in Pakistan in 1987, which led to the deaths of about 324 Pakistanis in separate incidents.<ref>Kaplan, ''Soldiers of God'', p.12</ref>
* 1990: The 1990 elections were widely believed to have been rigged by the ISI in favor of the [[Islami Jamhoori Ittehad]] (IJI) party, a [[wikt:conglomerate|conglomerate]] of nine mainly [[Right-wing politics|rightist]] parties by the ISI under [[Hamid Gul|Lieutenant General Hameed Gul]], to ensure the defeat of Bhutto's [[Pakistan Peoples Party]] (PPP) in the polls.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/world/pakistan/isi/ |title=Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI] |website=fas.org |access-date=5 May 2006 |first=John |last=Pike |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611053322/https://fas.org/irp/world/pakistan/isi/ |archive-date=11 June 2014 |df=dmy}}</ref>
* 2000s: The ISI engaged with Pakistan armed forces in the [[War in North-West Pakistan]] against [[Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan]], and is reported to have lost 78 ISI personnel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Iftikhar A |date=11 May 2011 |title=ISI sought formal accord on ties with CIA |url=http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/15/isi-sought-formal-accord-on-ties-with-cia-pasha.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120625223508/http://dawn.com/2011/05/15/isi-sought-formal-accord-on-ties-with-cia-pasha/ |archive-date=25 June 2012 |access-date=8 July 2021 |website=dawncom}}</ref>
* 2006: [[Rangzieb Ahmed]] brought a civil claim against MI5 for suggesting the ISI arrested him in 2006 and colluded in torturing him by submitting questions which were put to him under torture in Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/oct/27/mi5-colluded-in-pakistans-torture-of-british-terrorist-court-hears|author=Sabbagh, Dan|title=MI5 Colluded in Pakistan's torture of British terrorist, court hears|date=27 October 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=28 October 2020|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709124719/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/oct/27/mi5-colluded-in-pakistans-torture-of-british-terrorist-court-hears?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2011: The ISI arrested five Pakistanis who worked as CIA informants who passed information that led to the [[death of Osama bin Laden]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schmitt |first=Eric |date=14 June 2011 |title=Pakistan Arrests C.I.A. Informants in Bin Laden Raid |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/world/asia/15policy.html |url-status=live |access-date=8 July 2021 |website=New York Times |archive-date=23 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623172548/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/world/asia/15policy.html }}</ref> However, among them in particular, the US was trying to seek the release of [[Shakil Afridi]],<ref>{{cite web|title=US congress pushes for Dr Shakil Afridi's release|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/844538/us-congress-pushes-for-dr-shakil-afridis-release/|website=Express Tribune|date=26 February 2015 |access-date=13 April 2017|archive-date=14 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414162051/https://tribune.com.pk/story/844538/us-congress-pushes-for-dr-shakil-afridis-release/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Iqbal|first1=Anwar|title=US to use further cuts to get Dr Afridi out|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1255716|website=Dawn.com|date=2 May 2016|access-date=13 April 2017|archive-date=14 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414082425/https://www.dawn.com/news/1255716|url-status=live}}</ref> who ran a fake vaccination campaign that provided critical intelligence for the raid on the bin Laden compound.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 October 2011 |title=Pakistan accuses 'CIA-doctor' of treason  |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2011/10/201110723854479984.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007145145/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2011/10/201110723854479984.html |archive-date=7 October 2011 |website=[[Al Jazeera English]]}}</ref> However, the Pakistani government and military establishment refused to release Afridi, who has since been serving a 33-year prison sentence.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Marszal|first1=Andrew|title=Doctor who helped CIA track bin Laden still languishes in Pakistan jail|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/02/doctor-who-helped-cia-track-bin-laden-still-languishes-in-pakist/|website=The Telegraph|date=2 May 2016|access-date=13 April 2017|archive-date=14 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414081115/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/02/doctor-who-helped-cia-track-bin-laden-still-languishes-in-pakist/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Libya====
* 1978: The ISI spied on the residence of Colonel Hussain Imam Mabruk, who was a [[military attaché]] to the [[Libya]]n embassy in Islamabad, after he made some inflammatory statements about the military regime of Zia-ul-Haq. Mabruk was seen talking with two Pakistani men who entered and left the compound suspiciously. The ISI monitored the two men, who were later identified as Pakistani exiles who hated the current military regime and were Bhutto loyalists. They had received terrorist training in Libya and were ready to embark on a terrorist campaign in Pakistan to force the Army to step down from power. All members of the conspiracy were apprehended before any damage could be done.<ref name="Profiles of Intelligence" />
* 1981: A Libyan security company called Al Murtaza Associates sent recruiters to Pakistan to entice former soldiers and servicemen to take high-paying security jobs in Libya. In reality, Libya was recruiting mercenaries to fight against [[Chad]] and Egypt, as it had border disputes with both nations. ISI became aware of the plot and the scheme was stopped.<ref name="Profiles of Intelligence" /> (See also [[CIA transnational anti-crime and anti-drug activities#Southwest Asia]], [[Operation Cyclone]], [[Badaber Uprising]].)

====Iran====
* 2000s: ISI has been accused by [[Iran]] for supporting [[Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency|insurgency]] in [[Sistan and Baluchestan province|Sistan-Baluchistan]] province by aiding groups like [[Jundallah (Iran)|Jundallah]] which carried out score of terror attacks against Iranian forces.2010s.
* 2000s: ISI has been under repeated accusation of aiding [[Jaish ul-Adl|Jaish-ul-Adl]] which is fighting for the separation of Sistan-Baluchistan from Iran.
* 2010s. ISI was locked into [[proxy war]] with [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|IRGC]] of Iran to gain the maximum influence in the Southern Afghanistan.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-07-02 |title=Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Pakistan's ISI behind Helmand clashes |language=en-US |work=Khaama Press |url=https://www.khaama.com/irans-revolutionary-guard-and-pakistans-isi-behind-helmand-clashes-6332/ |access-date=2023-12-13}}</ref>
* 2016: [[Uzair Baloch]], a gangster of the Lyari Gang War who holds Iranian nationality,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Arfeen|first1=Syed|title=Deeper and darker: A Pakistani gangster's Iran connection|url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/137935-Deeper-and-darker-A-Pakistani-gangsters-Iran-connection|website=[[Geo News]]|access-date=13 April 2017|archive-date=13 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413235735/https://www.geo.tv/latest/137935-Deeper-and-darker-A-Pakistani-gangsters-Iran-connection|url-status=live}}</ref> was arrested in an intelligence-based operation by [[Sindh Rangers]]. In his handwritten confession, Baloch stated that officials of Iran's [[Ministry of Intelligence (Iran)|Ministry of Intelligence]] offered him an all-expenses-paid residence in [[Tehran]] in exchange for providing sensitive information about the Pakistan Army's operations in Karachi. He says that the offer came through a third-party while he was staying in Iran's port city of [[Chabahar]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ayub|first1=Imran|title=Uzair admitted to espionage a year ago, reveal documents|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1326668/uzair-admitted-to-espionage-a-year-ago-reveal-documents|website=Dawn.com|date=13 April 2017|access-date=13 April 2017|archive-date=13 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413051351/https://www.dawn.com/news/1326668/uzair-admitted-to-espionage-a-year-ago-reveal-documents|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2021: Iranian [[Ministry of Intelligence (Iran)|Ministry of Intelligence]] also known as VAJA adopting ISI model to curb the internal dissent which Iranian regime is facing. It was believed that VAJA wants to promote same discipline as ISI to better fight with threats that Iran is facing from the internal chaos.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan's ISI Has Become the Model for Iranian Intelligence |url=https://www.aei.org/op-eds/pakistans-isi-has-become-the-model-for-iranian-intelligence/ |access-date=2023-12-10 |website=American Enterprise Institute - AEI |language=en-US}}</ref>
'''Qatar'''

* 2023: [[Qatar State Security|Qatar' State Security]] arrested eight former [[Indian Navy]] officials working for [[Research and Analysis Wing|RAW]] who were spying on Qatar's stealth submarine programme at the behest of [[Israel]]. It was alleged by Indian media that Qatar was able to unearth spy network with the information provided by the ISI.

'''Iraq'''
* 2017: After [[ISIS]]'s [[Battle of Mosul (2016–17)|defeat in Mosul]], Iraqi envoy to Pakistan, Ali Yasin Muhammad Karim, held a press conference where he expressed his government's appreciation for Pakistan's help during the fight against the terrorist organization. He praised the intelligence-sharing of the ISI and expressed interest in continuing the intelligence cooperation between the two countries.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sajjad|first1=Baqir|title=Pakistan helped Iraq in defeating IS, says Iraqi envoy|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1345432/pakistan-helped-iraq-in-defeating-is-says-iraqi-envoy|website=Dawn|date=15 July 2017|access-date=15 July 2017|archive-date=12 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212070604/https://www.dawn.com/news/1345432/pakistan-helped-iraq-in-defeating-is-says-iraqi-envoy|url-status=live}}</ref>

====France====
* 1979: The ISI discovered a surveillance mission at the [[Kahuta Research Laboratories]] nuclear complex on 26&nbsp;June 1979 by the French Ambassador to Pakistan Le Gourrierec and First Secretary Jean Forlot. Both were arrested and their cameras and other sensitive equipment were confiscated. Documents intercepted later showed that the two were recruited by the CIA.<ref name="Profiles of Intelligence" />

====Soviet Union and post-Soviet states====
* 1980: The ISI had placed a mole in the Soviet Union's embassy in Islamabad. They reported that the Third Secretary in the Soviet Embassy was after information regarding the [[Karakoram Highway]] and was getting it from a middle-level employee, Ejaz, in the [[Northern Areas Transport Corporation]] (NATCO). The ISI contacted Ejaz, who confessed that a few months earlier a Soviet diplomat approached him and threatened his family unless he divulged sensitive information about the highway such as the road's alignment, bridge locations, and the number of Chinese personnel working on the highway. Instead of confronting the Soviet diplomat, the ISI gave him false information until the Soviet diplomat was satisfied that Ejaz had no further information and dropped him as a source.<ref name="Profiles of Intelligence" />
* 1991–1993: Major General Sultan Habib, who was an operative of the ISI's Joint Intelligence Miscellaneous department, successfully procured nuclear material while being posted as the [[Defence Attaché|defence attaché]] in the Pakistani Embassy in Moscow from 1991 to 1993 and concurrently obtained other materials from Central Asian Republics, Poland and the former Czechoslovakia.  After Moscow, Habib coordinated shipping missiles from North Korea and the training of Pakistani experts in missile production, both of which strengthened Pakistan's nuclear weapons program and their missile delivery systems.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web|url=http://www.saag.org/papers3/paper287.html|title=Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)|access-date=5 May 2006|first=B.|last=Raman |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060412012106/http://www.saag.org/papers3/paper287.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 12 April 2006}}</ref>

====United Kingdom====
{{Main|Inter-Services Intelligence activities in the United Kingdom}}

====United States====
{{Main|Inter-Services Intelligence activities in the United States}}

* 1980s: The ISI intercepted two American private-sector weapons dealers during the Soviet-Afghan war of the 1980s. One American diplomat lived in the F-7/4 sector of Islamabad and was spotted by an ISI agent in a seedy part of [[Rawalpindi]], drawing attention because of his automobile's diplomatic plates. He was bugged and subsequently trailed and found to be in contact with tribal groups and supplying them with weapons for their fight against the Soviet Army in Afghanistan. The second American weapons dealer was Eugene Clegg, a teacher in the American International School. One American International School employee and undercover agent, Naeem, was arrested while waiting to clear a shipment from Islamabad customs. All of them were put out of business.<ref name="Profiles of Intelligence" />
* 2000s: The ISI was suspicious about the CIA's attempted penetration of Pakistan nuclear assets and intelligence gathering in the Pakistani lawless tribal areas. Based on these suspicions, it was speculated that the ISI pursued a counter-intelligence program against CIA operations in Pakistan and Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/04-cia-isi-spywar-qs-01 |title=Pakistan &#124; CIA and ISI locked in aggressive spy battles |work=Dawn |access-date=9 April 2011 |archive-date=21 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101021054541/http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/04-cia-isi-spywar-qs-01 |url-status=live }}</ref> Former director general [[Ashfaq Parvez Kayani]] is also reported to have said, the "real aim of U.S. [war] strategy is to denuclearize Pakistan".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/30/AR2011013004136.html |title=New estimates put Pakistan's nuclear arsenal at more than 100 |author=Karen DeYoung |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=31 January 2011 |access-date=9 April 2011 |archive-date=4 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504022248/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/30/AR2011013004136.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 2011: In the aftermath of a shooting involving American CIA agent [[Raymond Allen Davis incident|Raymond Davis]], the ISI became more alert and suspicious about the CIA's spy network in Pakistan, which had disrupted ISI-CIA cooperation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/06/isi-redefining-terms-of-engagement-with-cia.html |title=ISI redefining terms of engagement with CIA |author=Baqir Sajjad Syed |publisher=Dawn.com |date=6 March 2011 |access-date=9 April 2011 |archive-date=10 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310164710/http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/06/isi-redefining-terms-of-engagement-with-cia.html |url-status=live }}</ref> At least 30 suspected covert American operatives have suspended their activities in Pakistan and 12 have reportedly left the country.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kharal |first=Asad |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/124965/intelligence-assets-after-davis-arrest-us-operatives-leaving-pakistan/ |title=After Davis' arrest, US operatives leaving Pakistan |work=The Express Tribune |date=25 February 2011 |access-date=17 March 2011 |archive-date=23 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110423104314/http://tribune.com.pk/story/124965/intelligence-assets-after-davis-arrest-us-operatives-leaving-pakistan/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
: A Chinese woman believed to be an ISI agent, who headed the Chinese unit of a US manufacturer, was charged with illegally exporting high-performance coatings for Pakistan's nuclear power plants. Xun Wang, a former managing director of PPG Paints Trading in Shanghai, a Chinese subsidiary of United States-based PPG Industries, Inc., was indicted on a charge of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and related offences. Wang was accused of conspiring to export and re-export specially designed, high-performance epoxy coatings to the [[Chashma Nuclear Power Plant|Chashma 2 Nuclear Power Plant]] in Pakistan via a third-party distributor in the People's Republic of China.<ref>[http://tribune.com.pk/story/205930/us-charges-chinese-woman-on-pakistan-exports/ US district court: Chinese woman indicted on Pakistan exports&nbsp;– ''The Express Tribune''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713015916/http://tribune.com.pk/story/205930/us-charges-chinese-woman-on-pakistan-exports/ |date=13 July 2011 }}. (10 July 2011). Retrieved on 2012-08-24.</ref> Alleged ISI operative Mohammed Tasleem, an attaché in the New York consulate, was discovered to be issuing threats against Pakistanis living in the United States to prevent them from speaking openly about Pakistan's government in 2010 by the FBI. US officials and scholars say the ISI has a systematic campaign to threaten those who speak critically of the Pakistani military.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|title=Pakistan Spies on Its Diaspora, Spreading Fear |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/world/asia/24isi.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|author1=Mark Mazzetti, Eric Schmitt|author2=Charlie Savage|name-list-style=amp|date=23 July 2011|access-date=21 June 2025|archive-date=1 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111201213649/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/world/asia/24isi.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Sri Lanka====

* 2000s: ISI played pivotal role in crushing [[LTTE Insurgency|Tamil Insurgency]] in Sri Lanka which was being supported by India's [[Research and Analysis Wing|RAW]] to carve out separate Tamil country for the Tamils of Sri Lanka. ISI, in response to the RAW's machinations, started to equip, train and provide logistical support to the [[Sri Lanka Armed Forces|Sri Lankan Armed Forces]] in their war against Tamil rebels. ISI supplied multi-barrel rocket launcher systems and other weaponry, which halted the offensive. ISI, by supplying high-tech military equipment such as 22 Al-Khalid main battle tanks, 250,000 rounds of mortar ammunition and 150,000 hand grenades, and sending army officers to Sri Lanka, played a key role in the ultimate defeat of Tamil Tigers in May 2009. The victory of Sri Lankan Armed Forces on Tamil Tigers ultimately strengthened [[Pakistan–Sri Lanka relations|Pakistan-Sri Lanka ties]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-04-22 |title=Sri Lanka's Faustian bargain with Pakistan: Exit LTTE, enter ISI |url=https://www.businesstoday.in/opinion/columns/story/sri-lanka-faustian-bargain-with-pakistan-exit-ltte-enter-isi-191398-2019-04-22 |access-date=2023-12-11 |website=Business Today |language=en}}</ref>
* 2011: ISI started to train [[Sri Lanka Police|State Police of Sri Lanka]] and Sri Lankan [[State Intelligence Service (Sri Lanka)|State Intelligence Service]] on intelligence gathering.

=== Al Qaeda and Taliban militants captured ===
* [[Ramzi Yousef]]: One of the planners of the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]] and the [[Bojinka plot]]. Pakistani intelligence, and the Department of State&nbsp;– [[Diplomatic Security Service|U.S. Diplomatic Security Service]] (DSS) Special Agents, captured Yousef in Islamabad, Pakistan. On 7&nbsp;February 1995, they raided room number 16 in the Su-Casa Guest House in Islamabad and captured Yousef before he could move to [[Peshawar]].<ref name="sacredcows">Benjamin, Daniel & Steven Simon. ''The Age of Sacred Terror'', 2002</ref>
* [[Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi]]: A Libyan paramilitary trainer for [[Al-Qaeda]], attempted to flee Afghanistan in November 2001 following the collapse of the Taliban, precipitating the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan]]. He was captured by Pakistani forces.<ref name="risen">Risen, James. ''State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration'', 2006</ref>
* [[Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh]]: A British-born terrorist of Pakistani descent who was arrested by Pakistani police on 12&nbsp;February 2002 in [[Lahore]] for his involvement with the Pearl kidnapping. Pearl had been kidnapped, had his throat slit, and then beheaded. He was named the chief suspect,<ref name="transcripts.cnn.com">''CNN Transcript'' {{cite news|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0202/12/bn.02.html|title=Suspected Mastermind of Pearl Killing Arrested|access-date=29 June 2006|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=7 February 2001|archive-date=22 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522051836/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0202/12/bn.02.html|url-status=live}} 12 February 2002.</ref> but claimed he had surrendered to the ISI a week earlier.<ref name="cpj">Wright, Abi. Committee to Protect Journalists, May 2006. {{cite web|title=Heading into Danger|url=http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2006/DA_spring_06/pearl/pearl_DA.html|access-date=29 June 2006|archive-date=29 June 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060629103102/http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2006/DA_spring_06/pearl/pearl_DA.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Abu Zubaydah]]: An Al-Qaeda terrorist responsible for conceiving multiple terrorist plots, including sending [[Ahmed Ressam]] to blow up the Los Angeles airport in 2000.<ref name="BinLadenReport">{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/04/10/august6.memo/index.html |title=''Transcript: Bin Laden determined to Strike in US'' CNN.com, Saturday April 10, 2004 |publisher=CNN |date=10 April 2004 |access-date=9 April 2011 |archive-date=26 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110126134923/http://edition.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/04/10/august6.memo/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He was captured on 28&nbsp;March 2002, by ISI, CIA, and FBI agents after they raided several safe houses in [[Faisalabad]], Pakistan.<ref name="GuantanamoFiles">Andy Worthington ''The Guantanamo Files'', Pluto Press, 2007</ref><ref name="TimMcGirk">{{cite news |author=Tim McGirk |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,227584,00.html |title=Anatomy of a Raid |magazine=Time |date=8 April 2002 |access-date=9 April 2011 |archive-date=21 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521015220/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,227584,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="JohnBurns">{{cite news |last=Burns |first=John F. |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A00EFDA123CF937A25757C0A9649C8B63 |title=John Burns, ''A NATION CHALLENGED: THE FUGITIVES, In Pakistan's Interior, A Troubling Victory in Hunt for Al Qaeda'' New York Times, April 14, 2002 |location=New York City; Pakistan; Faisalabad (Pakistan); Washington (Dc) |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=14 April 2002 |access-date=9 April 2011 |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709124735/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/14/world/nation-challenged-fugitives-pakistan-s-interior-troubling-victory-hunt-for-al.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="AntiTerrorRaid">{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20020403/zub03/anti-terror-raids-yield-bonanza-for-us-intelligence |title=Anti-terror raids yield bonanza for U.S. intelligence |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |date=2 April 2002 |access-date=9 April 2011 |archive-date=12 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112164741/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20020403&slug=zub03 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]]: An Al-Qaeda terrorist responsible for planning the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the [[USS Cole bombing|USS ''Cole'' bombing]], and the 2002 [[Ghriba synagogue bombing]] in [[Tunisia]].<ref name="bbc">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2257456.stm |title=Ramzi bin al-Shibh: al-Qaeda suspect |publisher=BBC |date=14 September 2002 |access-date=18 February 2010 |archive-date=16 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416103532/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2257456.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> On 11&nbsp;September 2002, the ISI captured Ramzi bin al-Shibh during a raid in [[Karachi]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Syed Saleem |last=Shahzad |title=A chilling inheritance of terror |newspaper=Asia Times |date=30 October 2002 |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/DJ30Df01.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021030191230/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/DJ30Df01.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=30 October 2002}}</ref>
* [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]]: The principal architect of the 9/11 attacks and other significant terrorist plots over the last twenty years, including the [[World Trade Center 1993 bombings]], the Bojinka plot, an aborted 2002 attack on the [[U.S. Bank Tower (Los Angeles)|U.S. Bank Tower]] in Los Angeles, the [[Bali nightclub bombings]], the failed bombing of [[2001 American Airlines Flight 63 bombing attempt|American Airlines Flight 63]], the [[2000 millennium attack plots|Millennium Plot]], and the murder of [[Daniel Pearl]]. On 1&nbsp;March 2003, the ISI captured him in a joint raid with the CIA's [[Special Activities Division]] paramilitary operatives and [[Diplomatic Security Service]] Special Agents in [[Rawalpindi]], Pakistan.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/washington/22ksm.html |title=Inside a 9/11 Mastermind's Interrogation |date=22 June 2008 |last=Shane |first=Scott |newspaper=New York Times |access-date=9 February 2017 |archive-date=2 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402075657/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/washington/22ksm.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Abu Faraj Farj al-Liby: Mastermind of two failed attempts on President Pervez Musharraf's life in May 2005.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE58E27T20090915 |publisher=Reuters |title=Factbox: Major al Qaeda militants killed or captured |date=15 September 2009 |access-date=1 July 2017 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308131757/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE58E27T20090915 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Maulvi Omar]]: Senior aid to [[Baitullah Mehsud]], who was captured by the ISI in August 2009.
* [[Abdul Ghani Baradar]]: The Taliban's deputy commander who was captured by Pakistani intelligence forces in or near Karachi, Pakistan, in early 2010.<ref name="BBC20100216">{{cite news |title=Taliban commander Mullah Baradar 'seized in Pakistan' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8517375.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=16 February 2010 |access-date=16 February 2010 |archive-date=18 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218044645/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8517375.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Reception==
Critics of the ISI say that it has become a [[state within a state]] and not accountable enough. Some analysts say that it is because intelligence agencies around the world remain secretive. Critics argue the institution should be more accountable to the president or the prime minister.<ref name="BBC News">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1750265.stm |title=Profile: Pakistan's military intelligence agency |access-date=5 May 2006 |first=David |last=Chazan |publisher=BBC News |date=9 January 2002 |archive-date=17 November 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051117003518/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1750265.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Pakistani government disbanded the ISI's political wing in 2008 after its discovery.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dawn.com/2008/11/23/top3.htm |title=ISI closes its political wing |newspaper=Dawn |date=23 November 2008 |access-date=16 October 2016 |archive-date=1 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101101032354/http://www.dawn.com/2008/11/23/top3.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===U.S. government===
During the [[Cold War]], the ISI and the CIA worked together to send [[Reconnaissance aircraft|spy planes]] over the [[Soviet Union]].<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100613083146/http://southasiaanalysis.org/papers15/paper1425.html Crash of US U-2 Spy Plane]}}. Southasiaanalysis.org. Retrieved on 24 August 2012.</ref> The two organisations also worked closely during the Soviet–Afghan War supporting groups such as [[Gulbuddin Hekmatyar]]'s [[Hezb-i Islami]] and [[Jalaluddin Haqqani]], leader of the [[Haqqani network]].<ref name="Neamatollah Nojumi">{{cite book |last=Neamatollah Nojumi |year=2002 |title=The Rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan: Mass Mobilization, Civil War, and the Future of the Region |edition=1st |location=New York |publisher=Palgrave }}</ref>

Some{{Who|date=March 2023}} report the ISI and CIA stepped up cooperation in the aftermath of the [[9/11 attacks]] to kill and capture senior [[Al Qaeda]] leaders such as Sheikh Younis Al Mauritan and [[Khalid Shaikh Mohammed]], the planner of the 9/11 attacks who was residing in Pakistan. Pakistan claims that around 100 top level al-Qaeda leaders/operators were killed or arrested by the ISI.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The News International: Latest News Breaking, Pakistan News |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/ |access-date=2023-03-28 |website=www.thenews.com.pk}}</ref> Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]] said Pakistan is paying a "big price for supporting the U.S. war against terror groups. [...] I think it is important to note that as they have made these adjustments in their own assessment of their national interests, they're paying a big price for it."<ref>http://www.dailymailpost.com/?p=640 {{Dead link|date=May 2022|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

Other senior international officials maintain that senior Al Qaeda leaders such as bin Laden have been hidden by the ISI in major settled areas of Pakistan with the full knowledge of the Pakistani military leadership.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/05/osama-bin-laden-afghan-intelligence-abbottabad-lead|title=Osama Bin Laden death: Afghanistan 'had Abbottabad lead four years ago'|work=The Guardian|first=Jon|last=Boone|date=5 May 2011|location=London|access-date=17 December 2016|archive-date=4 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204121959/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/05/osama-bin-laden-afghan-intelligence-abbottabad-lead|url-status=live}}</ref> A December 2011 analysis report by the [[Jamestown Foundation]] came to the conclusion that

{{blockquote|In spite of denials by the Pakistani military, evidence is emerging that elements within the Pakistani military harbored Osama bin Laden with the knowledge of former army chief General [[Pervez Musharraf]] and possibly former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General [[Ashfaq Pervez Kayani]]. Former Pakistani General [[Ziauddin Butt]] (a.k.a. General Ziauddin Khawaja) revealed at a conference on Pakistani-U.S. relations in October 2011 that according to his knowledge the then former Director-General of Intelligence Bureau of Pakistan (2004–2008), Brigadier Ijaz Shah (retd.), had kept Osama bin Laden in an Intelligence Bureau safe house in Abbottabad.<ref name="Jamestown Foundation">{{cite news |last=Jamal |first=Arrif |title=Former Pakistan Army Chief Reveals Intelligence Bureau Harbored Bin Laden in Abbottabad |url=https://jamestown.org/program/former-pakistan-army-chief-reveals-intelligence-bureau-harbored-bin-laden-in-abbottabad/ |journal=Terrorism Monitor |volume=9 |issue=47 |publisher=[[Jamestown Foundation]] |date=22 December 2011 |access-date=21 July 2021 |archive-date=1 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201032659/https://jamestown.org/program/former-pakistan-army-chief-reveals-intelligence-bureau-harbored-bin-laden-in-abbottabad/ |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Pakistani general [[Ziauddin Butt]] said bin Laden had been hidden in [[Abbottabad]] by the ISI "with the full knowledge" of General [[Pervez Musharraf]]<ref name="Jamestown Foundation" /> but later denied making any such statement, saying his words were altered by the media, he said: "It is the hobby of the Western media to distort the facts for their own purposes."<ref name="Ashraf Javed">{{cite news|title=Ijaz Shah to sue Ziauddin Butt|url=https://www.nation.com.pk/16-Feb-2012/ijaz-shah-to-sue-ziauddin-butt|access-date=14 November 2012|newspaper=The Nation|date=16 February 2012|author=Ashraf Javed|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402072120/http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/national/16-Feb-2012/ijaz-shah-to-sue-ziauddin-butt|archive-date=2 April 2012|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> U.S. military officials have increasingly said they do not notify Pakistani officials before conducting operations against the Afghan Taliban or Al Qaeda, because they fear Pakistani officials may tip them off.<ref name="Kissinger on foxnews">{{cite news|url =http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/on-the-record/transcript/kissinger-039almost-impossible039-pakistan-didn039t-know-bin-laden-was-hiding-region|title =Kissinger: 'Almost Impossible' That Pakistan Didn't Know Bin Laden Was Hiding in the Region|publisher =[[Fox News]]|date =5 March 2011|access-date =15 February 2012|archive-date =5 May 2011|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110505234040/http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/on-the-record/transcript/kissinger-039almost-impossible039-pakistan-didn039t-know-bin-laden-was-hiding-region|url-status =live}}</ref>
International officials have accused the ISI of continuing to support and even lead the Taliban during the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|2001-2021 War in Afghanistan]]. As [[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff]], [[Mike Mullen]] stated:

{{blockquote|The fact remains that the Quetta Shura [Taliban] and the Haqqani Network operate from Pakistan with impunity ... Extremist organizations serving as proxies of the government of Pakistan are attacking Afghan troops and civilians as well as US soldiers. ... For example, we believe the Haqqani Network—which has long enjoyed the support and protection of the Pakistani government ... is, in many ways, a strategic arm of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency.<ref name="longwarjournal1">{{cite web |first=Thomas |last=Joscelyn |url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/09/admiral_mullen_pakis.php |title=Admiral Mullen: Pakistani ISI sponsoring Haqqani attacks |publisher=The Long War Journal |quote=During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today, Admiral Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, highlighted the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence Agency's role in sponsoring the Haqqani Network—including attacks on American forces in Afghanistan. 'The fact remains that the Quetta Shura [Taliban] and the Haqqani Network operate from Pakistan with impunity,' Mullen said in his written testimony. 'Extremist organizations serving as proxies of the government of Pakistan are attacking Afghan troops and civilians as well as US soldiers.' Mullen continued: 'For example, we believe the Haqqani Network—which has long enjoyed the support and protection of the Pakistani government and is, in many ways, a strategic arm of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency—is responsible for the September 13th attacks against the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.{{'-}} |date=22 September 2011 |access-date=1 December 2011 |archive-date=26 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426235939/https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/09/admiral_mullen_pakis.php |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

The [[Associated Press]] reported that "the president said Mullen's statement 'expressed frustration' over the insurgent safe havens in Pakistan. But Obama said 'the intelligence is not as clear as we might like in terms of what exactly that relationship is.' Obama added that whether Pakistan's ties with the Haqqani network are active or passive, Pakistan has to deal with it."<ref>[http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/obama-wont-back-mullens-claim-on-pakistan-137813 Obama won't back Mullen's claim on Pakistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010014904/http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/obama-wont-back-mullens-claim-on-pakistan-137813 |date=10 October 2011 }}. NDTV.com (1 October 2011). Retrieved on 2012-08-24.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-09-22/US-panetta/50514576/1 |work=[[USA Today]] |title=Most Popular E-mail Newsletter |date=22 September 2011 |access-date=1 September 2017 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305093836/http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-09-22/US-panetta/50514576/1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Guantanamo Bay files leak]] showed that the US authorities unofficially consider the ISI a terrorist organization that was equally as dangerous as Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and many allegations of it supporting terrorist activities have been made.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-for-us-pakistans-ISI-a-terrorist-organisation/20110426.htm|title= Rediff News: For the US, ISI is a terrorist organisation|date= 26 April 2011|access-date= 2 February 2012|archive-date= 4 September 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110904000130/http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-for-us-pakistans-ISI-a-terrorist-organisation/20110426.htm|url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="Burke">{{cite news|last=Burke|first=Jason|title=Guantánamo Bay files: Pakistan's ISI spy service listed as terrorist group|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/25/guantanamo-files-isi-inter-services-intelligence|newspaper=The Guardian|date=25 April 2011|location=London|access-date=17 December 2016|archive-date=24 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224223248/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/25/guantanamo-files-isi-inter-services-intelligence|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2017, General [[Joseph Dunford]], [[chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff]], accused the ISI of having ties to terror groups.<ref>"[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/10/general-dunford-pakistan-intelligence-links-terrorists-171004105341470.html General Dunford: Pakistan intelligence has links to 'terrorists'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423232404/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/10/general-dunford-pakistan-intelligence-links-terrorists-171004105341470.html |date=23 April 2018 }}". Al-Jazeera. 4 October 2017.</ref> In a Senate hearing, Dunford told members of the U.S. Senate: "It is clear to me that the ISI has connections with terrorist groups."<ref>"[https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-pakistan-military/mattis-says-will-try-to-work-with-pakistan-one-more-time-idUKKCN1C8264 Mattis says will try to work with Pakistan 'one more time'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423165951/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-pakistan-military/mattis-says-will-try-to-work-with-pakistan-one-more-time-idUKKCN1C8264 |date=23 April 2018 }}". Reuters. 3 October 2017.</ref>

===Indian government===
India has accused the ISI of plotting the [[1993 Bombay bombings]].<ref name="ISI">''Black Friday: the true story of the Bombay bomb blasts'', S. Hussain Zaidi, Penguin Books, 2002, p. 30</ref> According to the [[United States diplomatic cables leak]], the ISI had previously shared intelligence information with [[Israel]] regarding possible terrorist attacks against Jewish and Israeli sites in India in late 2008.<ref>[http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/wikileaks-pakistan-spy-chief-shared-intelligence-with-israel-post-2611-1609020.html WikiLeaks: Pakistan shared intelligence with Israel post 26/11] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206092257/http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/wikileaks-pakistan-spy-chief-shared-intelligence-with-israel-post-2611-1609020.html |date=6 December 2010 }}. daily.bhaskar.com (2 December 2010). Retrieved on 2012-08-24.</ref> The ISI is also accused of supporting pro independence militias in [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/18/pakistan-isi-mumbai-terror-attacks |location=London |work=The Guardian |first=Jason |last=Burke |title=Pakistan intelligence services 'aided Mumbai terror attacks' |date=18 October 2010 |access-date=17 December 2016 |archive-date=8 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408023059/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/18/pakistan-isi-mumbai-terror-attacks |url-status=live }}</ref> while Pakistan denies all such claims,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/diplomat-denies-pakistan-role-in-mumbai-attacks-1521700.html |location=London |work=The Independent |date=31 January 2009 |title=Diplomat denies Pakistan role in Mumbai attacks |access-date=1 September 2017 |archive-date=30 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630024154/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/diplomat-denies-pakistan-role-in-mumbai-attacks-1521700.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/01/pakistan-denies-governmen_n_147395.html |work=Huffington Post |first=Zarar |last=Khan |title=Pakistan Denies Government Involvement In Mumbai Attacks |date=1 December 2008 |access-date=16 October 2011 |archive-date=18 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518011455/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/01/pakistan-denies-governmen_n_147395.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jan-07-fg-pakistan-india7-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |first=Laura |last=King |title=Pakistan denies official involvement in Mumbai attacks |date=7 January 2009 |access-date=16 October 2011 |archive-date=18 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518060232/http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/07/world/fg-pakistan-india7 |url-status=live }}</ref> or says it gives them moral support only.<ref name="Martin" />

==Controversies==
The ISI has been accused of using [[List of designated terrorist organizations|designated terrorist groups]] and [[Militant (word)|militants]] to conduct [[proxy wars]] against its neighbors.<ref name="Bajoria">{{cite news|last=Bajoria|first=Jayshree|title=The ISI and Terrorism: Behind the Accusations|newspaper=[[Council on Foreign Relations]]|date=4 May 2011|author2=Eben Kaplan}}</ref><ref name="Laruelle">{{cite book|last=Laruelle|first=Marlène|title=Mapping Central Asia: Indian Perceptions and Strategies|year=2011 |publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]]|isbn=978-1-4094-0985-4|author2=Sébastien Peyrouse|page=203}}</ref><ref name="Hussain">{{cite book|last=Hussain|first=Zahid|title=Frontline Pakistan: The Struggle With Militant Islam|year=2008|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]|isbn=978-0-231-14225-0|page=VII}}</ref> According to Grant Holt and David H. Gray, "The agency specializes in utilizing terrorist organizations as proxies for Pakistani foreign policy, covert action abroad, and controlling domestic politics."<ref name="Holt">{{cite journal|last=Holt |first=Grant |author2=David H. Gray|title=A Pakistani Fifth Column? The Pakistani Inter-Service Intelligence Directorate's Sponsorship of Terrorism|journal=Global Security Studies|date=Winter 2011|volume=2|issue=1|page=56}}</ref> [[James J.F. Forest|James Forest]] says, "There has been increasing proof from counter-terrorism organizations that militants and the Taliban continue to receive assistance from the ISI, as well as the establishment of camps to train terrorists on Pakistani territory."<ref name="Forest">{{cite book |last=Forest|first=James J. F.|author-link=James J.F. Forest|title=Countering Terrorism and Insurgency in the 21st Century: International Perspectives|year=2007|publisher=[[Praeger Publishing]]|isbn=978-0-275-99034-3|page=83}}</ref> All external operations are carried out under the supervision of the ISI's S Wing.<ref name="McGrath">{{cite book|last=McGrath|first=Kevin|title=Confronting Al Qaeda: New Strategies to Combat Terrorism|year=2011|publisher=[[Naval Institute Press]]|isbn=978-1-59114-503-5|page=138}}</ref> [[Joint Intelligence/North]] is responsible for conducting operations in Jammu and Kashmir and Afghanistan.<ref name="Camp">{{cite book|last=Camp|first=Dick|title=Boots on the Ground: The Fight to Liberate Afghanistan from Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, 2001–2002|year=2011|publisher=Zenith|isbn=978-0-7603-4111-7|page=38}}</ref> The Joint Signal Intelligence Bureau (JSIB) provides support with communications to groups in Jammu and Kashmir.<ref name="Camp" /> According to [[Daniel Benjamin]] and [[Steven Simon]], both former members of the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]], the ISI acted as a "kind of terrorist conveyor belt" radicalizing young men in the Madrassas in Pakistan and delivering them to training camps affiliated with or run by Al-Qaeda and from there moving them into Jammu and Kashmir to launch attacks.<ref name="Caldwell">{{cite book|last=Caldwell |first=Dan|title=Seeking Security in an Insecure World|year=2011|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|isbn=978-1-4422-0803-2|pages=103–104|edition=2nd|author2=Robert Williams}}</ref>

===Support for militants===
Since the 1990s, the ISI began communicating with the jihadists who emerged from the conflict against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, and by 2000 most militant groups operating in Kashmir were based in Pakistan or were pro-Pakistan. These groups are used to conduct a [[low-intensity conflict]] against India.<ref name="Zahab">{{cite book|last=Zahab|first=Mariam Abou|author-link1=Mariam Abou Zahab|title=The Practice of War: Production, Reproduction and Communication of Armed Violence|year=2011|publisher=[[Berghahn Books]]|isbn=978-0-85745-141-5|edition=Reprint|editor=Aparna Rao |editor2=Michael Bollig |editor3=Monika Bock|page=134}}</ref> According to [[Stephen P. Cohen]] and John Wilson, the ISI's aid to and creation of designated terrorist groups and religious extremist groups is well-documented.<ref name="Cohen">{{cite book|last=Cohen|first=Stephen P.|title=The Future of Pakistan |year=2011 |publisher=Brookings Institution|isbn=978-0-8157-2180-2|page=130}}</ref><ref name="Wilson1">{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=John|title=Terrorism in Southeast Asia: Implications for South Asia Countering the Financing of Terrorism|year=2005|publisher=[[Pearson plc]]|isbn=978-8129709981|page=80}}</ref> The ISI has been accused of having close ties to [[Lashkar-e-Taiba]], who carried out the attacks in Mumbai in 2008.<ref name="Green">{{cite book|last=Green|first=M. Christian|title=Religion and Human Rights|year=2011 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|chapter=Chapter 21|isbn=978-0-19-973345-3}}</ref> The organisation has also given aid to [[Hizbul Mujahideen]].<ref name="Sisk">{{cite book|last=Sisk |first=Timothy D.|title=International Mediation in Civil Wars: Bargaining with Bullets|year=2008|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-0-415-47705-5|page=172}}</ref> Terrorism expert Gus Martin said, "The ISI has a long history of supporting designated terrorist groups and pro-Independence groups operating in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir which fight against Indian interests."<ref name="Martin">{{cite book |last=Martin |first=Gus |title=Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues |year=2009 |publisher=[[SAGE Publishing]] |edition=Third |isbn=978-1-4129-7059-4 |page=189 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uJ6MeYq_FbkC |access-date=19 October 2016 |archive-date=10 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410035412/https://books.google.com/books?id=uJ6MeYq_FbkC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Palmer">{{cite book|last=Palmer|first=Monte|title=At the Heart of Terror: Islam, Jihadists, and America's War on Terrorism|year=2007|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|isbn=978-0-7425-3603-6|page=196}}</ref> The ISI also helped with the founding of the group [[Jaish-e-Mohammed]].<ref name="Wilson2">{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=John|title=Terrorism in Southeast Asia: Implications for South Asia Countering the Financing of Terrorism |year=2005|publisher=Pearson|isbn=978-8129709981|page=84}}</ref>

====Hizbul Mujahideen====
The group Hizbul Mujahideen was created as the Kashmiri branch of [[Jamaat-i-Islami]].<ref name="Juergensmeyer">{{cite book|last=Juergensmeyer|first=Mark|title=Global Rebellion Religious Challenges to the Secular State, from Christian Militias to al Qaeda|year=2008|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|isbn=978-0-520-25554-8|edition=1st|page=91}}</ref> It was reported that JI founded Hizbul Mujahideen at the request of the ISI to counter the [[Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front]] who are advocates for the independence of [[Kashmir]].<ref name="Hizb-ul-Mujahideen">{{cite web|title=Hizb-ul-Mujahideen|url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/hizbul_mujahideen.htm|publisher=Institute For Conflict Management|access-date=28 December 2012|archive-date=17 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100817113725/http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/hizbul_mujahideen.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The failure of 1987 elections in Kashmir, and afterwards the arrest of Muhammad Yusuf, a.k.a. [[Syed Salahuddin]], led to the events that created armed struggle in the valley.

====Al-Badr====
There have been three incarnations of Al-Badr. According to Tomsen, the ISI, in conjunction with [[Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan|Jamaat-e-Islami]], formed the first Al-Badr, who resisted the Indian-trained influx of [[Mukti Bahini]] in Bangladesh in the 1970s.<ref name="Tomsen,240">{{cite book|last=Tomsen|first=Peter |title=Wars of Afghanistan|year=2011|publisher=Public Affairs|isbn=978-1-58648-763-8|page=240}}</ref><ref name="Schmid (Editor)">{{cite book|last=Schmid|first=Alex|title=The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research|year=2011|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-41157-8|page=540}}</ref> <!--The third [[Al-Badr (India)]] (unfinished??--->

====Al-Qaeda and bin Laden====
{{Main|Civil war in Afghanistan (1989–1992)|Soviet–Afghan War}}

The ISI supported Al-Qaeda during the war along with the CIA against the Soviet government, through the Taliban, and it is believed by some that there is still contact between Al-Qaeda and the ISI.<ref name="Aubrey">{{cite book|last=Aubrey|first=Stefan M.|title=The New Dimension of International Terrorism|year=2004|publisher=vdf Hochschulverlag AG|isbn=978-3-7281-2949-9|page=253}}</ref> An assessment by British Intelligence in 2000 into Al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan showed the ISI were playing an active role in some of them.<ref name="Atkins">{{cite book|last=Atkins|first=Stephen E|author-link=Stephen E. Atkins|title=The 9/11 Encyclopedia|year=2011|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|isbn=978-1-59884-921-9|edition=2nd|page=540}}</ref> In 2002, it was alleged that when the Egyptian investigators tracked down Al-Qaeda member Ahmed Said Khadr in Pakistan, the Egyptian authorities informed Pakistani authorities of his location. However, the Afghan Taliban at night came in a car and took Khadir along with them to Afghanistan. The next day, Pakistani authorities claimed they were unable to capture Khadir.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=McGirk |first=Tim |date=29 April 2002 |title=Rogues No More? |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,501020506-233999,00.html |url-status=live |access-date=9 July 2021 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |archive-date=27 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227112532/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,501020506-233999,00.html }}</ref> The leak in 2012 of [[2012 Stratfor email leak|e-mails]] from [[Stratfor]] claimed papers captured during all the compounds during [[Death of Osama bin Laden|the raid]] in Abbottabad on Osama bin Laden's compound showed up to 12 ISI officials knew where he was and that Bin Laden had been in regular contact with the ISI.<ref name="McElroy">{{cite news|last=McElroy|first=Damien|title=Stratfor: Osama bin Laden 'was in routine contact with Pakistan's spy agency'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/9109457/Stratfor-Osama-bin-Laden-was-in-routine-contact-with-Pakistans-spy-agency.html|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=27 February 2012|location=London|access-date=4 April 2018|archive-date=3 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190303165254/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/9109457/Stratfor-Osama-bin-Laden-was-in-routine-contact-with-Pakistans-spy-agency.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Despite the [[Allegations of support system in Pakistan for Osama bin Laden|allegations]], [[Steve Coll]] stated that as of 2019 there is no direct evidence showing Pakistani knowledge of bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad, even by a rogue or compartmented faction within the government, other than the circumstantial fact of bin Laden's compound being located near (albeit not directly visible from) the [[Pakistan Military Academy]]. Documents captured from the Abbottabad compound generally show that bin Laden was wary of contact with ISI and Pakistani police, especially in light of Pakistan's role in the arrest of [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]]; it has also been suggested that the $25 million U.S. reward for information leading to bin Laden would have been enticing to Pakistani officers given their reputation for corruption. The compound itself, although unusually tall, was less conspicuous than sometimes envisaged by Americans, given the common local habit of walling off homes for protection against violence or to ensure the privacy of female family members.<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Steve Coll|last=Coll|first=Steve|title=Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan|publisher=[[Penguin Group]]|year=2019|isbn=9780143132509|pages=547–554}}</ref>

Al-Qaeda has repeatedly labelled ISI their enemy, and claimed the Pakistani military and intelligence are their main targets in Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theweek.in/content/archival/news/world/al-qaeda-indian-subcontinent-pakistan.html|title=Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent threatens to wage war against Pak|date=27 June 2017|work=[[The Week (India)]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102053557/https://www.theweek.in/content/archival/news/world/al-qaeda-indian-subcontinent-pakistan.html|archive-date=2 January 2019|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In 2019, [[Ayman al-Zawahari]] labelled ISI and the Pakistani military a "puppet" of the United States in a video message.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/al-qaeda-releases-maiden-video-on-kashmir-issues-threats-to-army-govt/articleshow/70158497.cms|title=Al Qaeda releases maiden video on Kashmir; issues threats to army, govt|date=10 July 2019|work=[[The Economic Times]]|access-date=10 September 2019|archive-date=17 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117170321/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/al-qaeda-releases-maiden-video-on-kashmir-issues-threats-to-army-govt/articleshow/70158497.cms|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/al-qaeda-releases-its-first-video-on-kashmir/article28363676.ece|title=Al-Qaeda releases its first video on Kashmir|date=10 July 2019|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=10 September 2019|archive-date=11 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711114725/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/al-qaeda-releases-its-first-video-on-kashmir/article28363676.ece|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Harkat-ul-Mujahideen====
The [[Harkat-ul-Mujahideen]] was founded in the 1980s by the ISI to fight against Indian interests.<ref name="O. Riedel">{{cite book|last=O. Riedel|first=Bruce|title=Deadly Embrace: Pakistan, America, and the Future of the Global Jihad|year=2011|publisher=Brookings Institution|isbn=978-0-8157-0557-4|page=Preface}}</ref>

====Jammu and Kashmir====
in 1984, under the orders of Zia-ul-Haq, the ISI prepared for a rebellion, which was to be set in motion in 1991.<ref name="Haqqani">{{cite book|last=Haqqani|first=Husain|title=Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military|year=2005|publisher=Carnegie|isbn=978-0-87003-214-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/pakistanbetweenm00haqq/page/273 273]|url=https://archive.org/details/pakistanbetweenm00haqq/page/273}}</ref>

====Haqqani network====
The ISI allegedly have links to the Haqqani network<ref name="Cordesman">{{cite book|last=Cordesman|first=Anthony H.|title=Winning in Afghanistan: Creating Effective Afghan Security Forces|year=2009|publisher=[[Center for Strategic and International Studies]]|isbn=978-0-89206-566-0|author2=Adam Mausner |author3=David Kasten}}</ref> and contributed to their funding.<ref name="Shanty">{{cite book|last=Shanty|first=Frank|title=The Nexus: International Terrorism and Drug Trafficking from Afghanistan|year=2011|publisher=Praeger|isbn=978-0-313-38521-6|edition=1st|page=191}}</ref> It is widely believed the [[2008 Indian embassy bombing in Kabul|suicide attack]] on the Indian embassy in Kabul in 2008 was planned with the help of the ISI.<ref name="Williams">{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Brian Glyn|title=Afghanistan Declassified: A Guide to America's Longest War|year=2011|publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]]|isbn=978-0-8122-4403-8|page=144}}</ref> A report in 2008 from the US [[director of National Intelligence]] stated that the ISI provides intelligence and funding to help with attacks against the [[International Security Assistance Force]], the Afghan government, and Indian targets.<ref name="Aid">{{citation |last=Aid |first=Matthew M. |title=Intel Wars: The Secret History of the Fight Against Terror |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dOKL4kbhgIIC |date=3 January 2012 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury USA]] |isbn=978-1-60819-481-0 |page=113 |access-date=19 October 2016 |archive-date=10 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410041618/https://books.google.com/books?id=dOKL4kbhgIIC |url-status=live }}</ref> On 5&nbsp;November 2014, Lieutenant-General Joseph Anderson, a senior commander for US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said that the Haqqani network is now "fractured" like the Taliban in a Pentagon-hosted video briefing from Afghanistan. "They are fractured. They are fractured like the Taliban is. That's based pretty much on Pakistan's operations in North Waziristan this entire summer-fall," he said, acknowledging the effectiveness of Pakistan's [[Operation Zarb-e-Azb|military offensive]] in North Waziristan. "That has very much disrupted their efforts in Afghanistan and has caused them to be less effective in terms of their ability to pull off an attack in Kabul," Anderson added.<ref>{{cite news|title=Operation Zarb-i-Azb disrupted Haqqani network: US general |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1142664/ |date=6 November 2014 |work=Dawn |access-date=7 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107130307/http://www.dawn.com/news/1142664/ |archive-date=7 November 2014 |url-status=dead |df=dmy}}</ref>

=== Insubordination controversies ===
The army has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its history and has always been unwilling to see its influence being compromised by any civilian leaders.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-26 |title=Pakistan's PM approves appointment of new spy chief |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/pakistan-islamabad-imran-khan-karachi-peshawar-b1945713.html |access-date=2021-10-27 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref> In the 1990s, Prime Minister [[Benazir Bhutto]] appointed retired army officer [[Shamsur Rahman Kallu]] as director-general, but army leaders refused to cooperate with Kallu because he had refused to engage in martial-law duties under the previous dictator. In October 1998, [[Ziauddin Butt]] was chosen as director general. Though Butt was not the preferred choice of Prime Minister [[Nawaz Sharif]], he grew close with him, and [[Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee]] General [[Pervez Musharraf]] took over important ISI files. During a military coup a year later, Musharraf arrested Butt, who had been promoted to Chief of Army Staff by Sharif.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 Oct 2021 |title=Is this the first time there has been a conflict between the government and military? |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3Ul5VJkpIc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/q3Ul5VJkpIc |archive-date=2021-12-21 |access-date=17 October 2021 |work=[[BBC World Service|BBC World service (BBC URDU )]] |language=Urdu}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Pakistan ISI" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Noor |first=Arifa |date=2021-10-19 |title=Past, present, forever |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1652917 |access-date=2021-10-19 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref>

On 6 October 2016, the daily newspaper [[Dawn (newspaper)|''Dawn'']] published a report about a government meeting allegedly arranged by Sharif. The article detailed a  presentation by Foreign Secretary [[Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry|Aizaz Chaudhry]] about international pressure to crack down on Pakistan's extremist segments such as Masood Azhar, the Jaish-i-Mohmmad, Hafiz Saeed, the Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the Haqqani network. According to Ghazi Salahuddin of ''[[The News International]],'' controversy ensued after the October meeting and the ''Dawn'' report, which lingered until May 2016.<ref name="isolation">{{Cite web |last=Almeida |first=Cyril |date=2016-10-06 |title=Exclusive: Act against militants or face international isolation, civilians tell military |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1288350 |access-date=2021-10-17 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref><ref name="dangerous">{{Cite web |last=Salahuddin |first=Ghazi |date=17 October 2021 |title=Living dangerously – again |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/900977-living-dangerously-again |access-date=2021-10-17 |website=www.thenews.com.pk |language=en}}</ref> During the October 2016 meeting, Punjab chief minister [[Shehbaz Sharif|Shahbaz Sharif]] allegedly revealed that, whenever action had been taken against certain extremist groups by civilian authorities, the security agency had worked secretly to free the arrested parties.<ref name="isolation" /><ref name="dangerous" /> According to Salahuddin Ghazi, information minister [[Pervaiz Rashid]] lost his portfolio over the ''Dawn'' news leak, and a government notification was released about the civilian government's decision after the meeting. On 29 April 2017, the director general released a tweet that said: "Notification on Dawn Leak is incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the Inquiry Board. Notification is rejected." Ghazi stated that a meeting was eventually held between the prime minister and the chief of army staff, and a press conference was held to announce the decision to withdraw the tweet.<ref name="dangerous" />

====2021 disagreement over appointment of ISI Chief====
Pakistan's mainstream media reported on the October 2021 constitutional rift between civil and armed wings over the appointment of the director general post only after ministers spoke on the matter.<ref name="Govt stalemate">{{Cite web |last=Shehzad |first=Rizwan |date=2021-10-13 |title=Govt confirms 'stalemate' in DG ISI's appointment |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/2324595/govt-confirms-stalemate-in-dg-isis-appointment |access-date=2021-10-13 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}}</ref><ref name="ISI Chief">{{Cite web |date=2021-10-12 |title=Aye-Yes-Aye: Imran Khan, Gen Bajwa Bicker Over New ISI Chief as Charges of 'Favouritism, Meddling' Fly |url=https://www.news18.com/news/world/aye-yes-aye-imran-khan-gen-bajwa-bicker-over-new-isi-chief-as-charges-of-favouritism-meddling-fly-4315784.html |access-date=2021-10-13 |website=News18 |language=en}}</ref> On 6 October 2021, the Pakistan military's media affairs wing announced the replacement of [[Faiz Hameed]] with [[Nadeem Anjum]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chaudhry |first=Dawn com {{!}} Fahad |date=2021-10-06 |title=In military shuffle, Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum replaces Lt Gen Faiz Hameed as top spymaster |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1650461 |access-date=2021-10-13 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref> After two days, it became apparent on social media that the federal government of Pakistan had yet to issue any formal notification for the appointment of the new director general.<ref name="Govt stalemate" />  Rumors became more substantiated when Hameed attended the National Security Committee meeting instead of the expected new director general.<ref name="Govt stalemate" /><ref name="ISI Chief" />

On 13 October 2021, Information Minister [[Fawad Chaudhry]] informed media that the process of appointing a new director general was in progress, and that the selection is Prime Minister [[Imran Khan]]'s prerogative. He also noted that the army chief and the prime minister agreed on following correct procedures of appointment according to the Constitution.

[[Malik Aamir Dogar|Malik Dogar]], the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs, later said in a talk show that PM Imran Khan wanted Hameed to continue as DG ISI for some more months after taking into consideration Hameed's expertise on the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|situation in Afghanistan]]. Dogar further stated that during the cabinet meeting, the prime minister stressed that if the army is a respected institution then the PM Office is also a respected one.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Raza |first=Dawn com {{!}} Syed Irfan |date=2021-10-13 |title=Consultation between PM, COAS over DG ISI completed, new appointment process underway: Fawad |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1651775 |access-date=2021-10-13 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Raza |first=Syed Irfan |date=2021-10-13 |title=PM wants current ISI chief to continue for some time: PTI |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1651629 |access-date=2021-10-13 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref><ref name="govt notify" />

===Attacks on journalists===
[[Amnesty International]] published a document concerning the investigation of ISI over the murder of [[Saleem Shahzad]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.refworld.org/country,,AMNESTY,,PAK,,53c661084,0.html|title=Refworld {{!}} Pakistan must investigate Inter-Services Intelligence over attacks against journalists|last=Refugees|first=United Nations High Commissioner for|newspaper=Refworld|access-date=2017-01-01|archive-date=26 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226234945/http://www.refworld.org/country,,AMNESTY,,PAK,,53c661084,0.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Death of Arshad Sharif ====
Following General Bajwa's retirement, the mother of slain journalist Arshad Sharif requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan to formally charge General Bajwa, among other military officers, for the "targeted, premeditated, planned and calculated murder" of her son, claiming members of the military's Public Relations division began threatening Sharif after he emerged as a critic of General Bajwa following the success of the vote-of-no-confidence against Imran Khan, particularly in a program called “Woh Kon Tha”, aired on ARY News, in which Sharif insinuated General Bajwa had a hand in overthrowing his democratically elected Prime Minister.<ref>{{cite web |date=7 December 2022 |title=Slain Journalist Arshad Sharif's Mother Wants Gen Bajwa, DG ISI To Be Nominated In The FIR |url=https://www.thefridaytimes.com/2022/12/07/slain-journalist-arshad-sharifs-mother-wants-gen-bajwa-dg-isi-to-be-nominated-in-the-fir/ |access-date=7 January 2023 |website=The Friday Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Malik |first1=Hasnaat |date=7 December 2022 |title=SC orders special JIT on journalist's murder |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2389880/sc-orders-special-jit-on-journalists-murder |access-date=7 January 2023 |website=The Express Tribune}}</ref>

=== Interference in Judicial Matters ===

==== Islamabad High Court Judges Letter ====
{{Main|2024 IHC judges' letter}}
Aljazeera reported <ref>{{Cite web |last=Hussain |first=Abid |title=Judges vs spies: Pakistan's jurists accuse intel agency ISI of intimidation |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/27/judges-vs-spies-pakistans-jurists-accuse-intel-agency-isi-of-intimidation |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> that six judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) accused the ISI of interference in judicial matters, citing abduction, torture, and surveillance. Despite assurances from ISI leadership, these claims persisted, leading to an investigation by the Supreme Judicial Council of Pakistan. The incident underscored ongoing tensions between Pakistan's judiciary and intelligence agencies, reflecting broader issues of governance and institutional integrity.

== See also ==
* [[Pakistani intelligence community]]
* [[Military Intelligence of Pakistan]]
* [[Air Intelligence (Pakistan)|Air Intelligence of Pakistan]]
* [[Naval Intelligence (Pakistan)|Naval Intelligence of Pakistan]]
* [[Intelligence Bureau (Pakistan)|Intelligence Bureau of Pakistan]]
* [[Inter Services Public Relations]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{citation |last=Gregory |first=Shaun |year=2007 |title=The ISI and the War on Terrorism |journal=Studies in Conflict & Terrorism |volume=30 |issue=12 |pages=1013–1031 |issn=1057-610X |doi=10.1080/10576100701670862 |s2cid=71331428 |ref={{sfnref|Gregory, The ISI and the War on Terrorism|2007}}}}

== Further reading ==
* {{citation |last=Ayub |first=Muhammad |year=2005 |title=An Army, Its Role and Rule: A History of the Pakistan Army from Independence to Kargil from 1947–1999 |location=Pittsburgh |publisher=RoseDog Books |isbn=0-8059-9594-3}}
* {{citation |last=Bamford |first=James |year=2004 |title=A Pretext for War: 9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America's Intelligence Agencies |url=https://archive.org/details/pretextforwar91100bamf |location=New York |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=0-385-50672-4 }}
* {{citation |last=Coll |first=Steve |year=2004 |title=Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to 10 September 2001 |url=https://archive.org/details/ghostwarssecreth00coll |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Penguin Press |isbn=1-59420-007-6}}
* {{citation |last=Coll |first=Steve |year=2018 |title=Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan, 2001–2016 |location=UK |publisher=Penguin Press |isbn=978-1-84614-660-2 |oclc=996422824}}
* {{citation |last=Crile |first=George |year=2003 |title=Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History |url=https://archive.org/details/charliewilsonswa00geor |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Grove Press |isbn=0-8021-4124-2 }}
* {{citation |last=Henderson |first=Robert D'A |year=2003 |title=Brassey's International Intelligence Yearbook |location=Dulles, VA |publisher=Brassey's |isbn=1-57488-550-2}}
* {{citation |last=Jan |first=Abid Ullah |year=2006 |title=From BCCI to ISI: The Saga of Entrapment Continues|title-link=Bank of Credit and Commerce International |location=Ottawa |publisher=Pragmatic Publishing |isbn=0-9733687-6-4 }}
* {{citation |last=Kiessling |first=Hein G. |year=2016 |title=Faith, Unity, Discipline: The ISI of Pakistan |location=India |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-93-5177-796-0}}
* {{citation |last1=Schneider |first1=Jerrold E. |first2=P. R. |last2=Chari |first3=Pervaiz Iqbal |last3=Cheema |first4=Stephen Phillip |last4=Cohen |year=2003 |title=Perception, Politics and Security in South Asia: The Compound Crisis in 1990 |location=London |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-30797-X}}
* {{citation |last1=Todd |first1=Paul |first2=Jonathan |last2=Bloch |year=2003 |title=Global Intelligence: The World's Secret Services Today |location=Dhaka |publisher=University Press |isbn=1-84277-113-2}}
* {{citation |last1=Yousaf |first1=Mohammad |first2=Mark |last2=Adkin |year=2001 |title=Afghanistan the Bear Trap: The Defeat of a Superpower |location=Barnsley |publisher=Leo Cooper |isbn=0-85052-860-7}}

== External links ==

* [https://ispr.gov.pk/ Inter-Services Public Relations]
* [https://www.intelligenceonline.com/tags/inter-services-intelligence Intelligence Online]
{{Inter-Services Intelligence|state=expanded}}
{{External national intelligence agencies}}
{{Pakistani intelligence agencies}}
{{Pakistani Armed Forces}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Inter-Services Intelligence| ]]
[[Category:1948 establishments in Pakistan]]
[[Category:1949 establishments in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Government agencies established in 1948]]
[[Category:Information sensitivity]]
[[Category:Military of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Pakistan federal departments and agencies]]
[[Category:Pakistani intelligence agencies]]