Spies and ties

There are reports emanating from Washington that the Central Intelligence Agency sent a top official to Pakistan carrying information on strengthening bonds between the Inter-Services Intelligence ISI and militants working out of the tribal regions bordering Afghanistan. According to The New York Times, these bonds were cited to account for the increased terrorist violence in Afghanistan, including the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul last month. These reports coincide with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani8217;s visit to Washington, where he predictably dismissed them as 8220;not believable8221;. But Gilani himself came to Pakistan on the wings of an embarrassing flip-flop over greater civilian control of the ISI, and in that provides a clue to the contradictions and confusions at the heart of the civilian-military establishment in Pakistan.

At its very core, the reported substance of the CIA assessment is something that8217;s been openly discussed as informed suspicion. But the growing ferocity and spread of violence in Afghanistan makes it difficult for Washington to persist with the strange balancing act it adopted after the September 11, 2001, attacks. That involved applying pressure on Pakistan 8212; essentially through Pervez Musharraf, who till recently remained army chief 8212; to contain terrorists, but not taking extreme measures to warn Pakistan against inaction or outright support to militants by members of its armed forces. The Bush administration is also under political pressure to get tough with Pakistan. The Democrats, led by its presumptive presidential candidate, Barack Obama, have been charging President Bush with concentrating on Iraq and ignoring the 8220;real war8221;, the war in Afghanistan.

But, as our columnist today points out, there is no clear indication of who is in charge in Pakistan and of whether Gilani8217;s word carries weight with the military. Nonetheless, Washington has for too long put off any public concession that everything8217;s not right with its Pakistan policy.