No control on Army, ISI operations, says Govt

The government in its reply to the Supreme Court (SC) in Memo case has confessed that it has no control over Army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and prayed that it should not be made answerable in regard to statements of Husain Haqqani and Mansor Ijaz.The government through Defence Ministry has sent this written confession to the Supreme Court in which it is first time admitted that the political rulers have no control over Pakistan Army and ISI operations and that is why the government is not in a position to submit any explanation of reply on their behalf.Earlier, the Supreme Court has sent the statements of Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United State Husain Haqqani and creator of Memorandum Mansor Ijaz to the Secretary Defence Lt Gen (retd) Naeem Khalid Lodhi. The secretary defence was asked by the Supreme Court about government’s stance on the charges leveled in these statements against Pakistan Army and ISI. The Defence Ministry in its reply to the Supreme Court has said that the government has not control over army and ISI.Gen Lodhy also stated that the government only looks after the administrative metters of Pakistan Army and ISI which includes defence budget, salaries and notifications of promotions.It is further stated that the government has no information about what Husain Haqqani and Mansor Ijaz had said in their written statements regarding army and ISI and it is not in a position to comment on the statements. The Defence Ministry is not in contact with them and has no information to submit in the Supreme Court in this regard.The analysts are of the view that government’s confession in the Supreme Court that it has no control over army and ISI operations reveals that the military in Pakistan runs its operations without civilian rulers control. This confession shows civilian government’s helplessness. There is no such precedent in the world when a government confesses before the epic court that it has no control on operations of its army and the intelligence agency.The analysts say that the confession shows that both these institutions get their salaries from the government of Pakistan but operate on their own will and even the government is not aware of their operations.