Pakistan appointed a close ally of the army chief to head the country’s most powerful and controversial intelligence agency yesterday, cementing the military’s dominance following weeks of anti-government protests.
Rizwan Akhtar, who has extensive experience of counterinsurgency from a previous posting in the South Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan, will take over the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency in October.
The head of the ISI is one of the most important posts in Pakistan, at the intersection of domestic politics, the war on militancy and Pakistan’s foreign relations. It is also one of the most controversial, given accusations against the ISI of meddling in domestic politics and having ties to the Afghan Taliban and other insurgent groups fighting US-led Nato troops in Afghanistan, charges the military denies.
Although the ISI officially reports to the prime minister, in reality it is controlled by the army chief, in this case General Raheel Sharif.
Akhtar’s previous job was head of the paramilitary Rangers in the province of Sindh in the south, where he led a comprehensive operation against Islamist groups and criminal gangs in Karachi, the country’s financial hub.
“He is a horribly straight guy, all black and white,” a serving military official said of Akhtar.
“He has served in a place like Karachi ... with all its turf wars and politics while remaining neutral and apolitical and also has extensive experience of counterinsurgency and counterterrorism. He was the obvious choice.”
Some believe the appointment may be an opportunity to set a new tone in the often tense relationship between Pakistan and its arch rival India. The nuclear-armed neighbours have fought three wars and Pakistan’s army uses the perceived threat from India to justify its huge budget and national importance.
In a 2008 publication while he was at the US Army War College, Akhtar argued that Pakistan “must aggressively pursue rapprochement with India.” In the same paper, he criticised US policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The appointment comes at a difficult time for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whose position has been significantly weakened by weeks of opposition protests demanding his resignation.
Protesters led by cricketer-turned-opposition leader Imran Khan and activist cleric Tahir ul-Qadri have camped outside government offices in the capital, Islamabad, since mid-August, refusing to leave until Sharif resigns.