Not long ago, a former head of the ISI's political cell Major General Ehtesham Zameer Jafferi had confessed to having manipulated the 2002 general elections at the behest of Pervez Musharraf. He had admitted in an interview that he was ordered by Musharraf to help the 'king's party' the Pakistan Muslim League -- PML-Q -- to come to power in 2002.
The former No 2 of the ISI had then called for the closure of the political cell, confessing that it was part of the problem due to its repeated involvement in forging unnatural political alliances, contrary to public wishes.
However, the 2002 elections were not the only ones to have been manipulated by the ISI. The agency had earlier been accused of manoeuvring the 1990 election results in favour of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad or Islamic Democratic Alliance. A case in this regard is already pending with the supreme court of Pakistan.
The case had exposed the abuse of public funds by the military and intelligence agencies in order to manipulate political change in the country. The ISI prevailed upon politicians from different parties to trade their loyalties for a price, primarily to destabilise a hostile PPP government and then put in place a friendly government to be led by Nawaz Sharif. The scandal comprises the entire gamut of financial crimes like fake loans, kickbacks, illegal transactions and bribes and involves several high profile names of politicians and a serving army chief.
The case actually originated on June 16, 1996, from a letter by Air Marshal (retd) Asghar Khan to then Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, asking him to take suitable action on then Interior Minister Major Gener (retd) Naseerullah Khan Babar's statement in the National Assembly. Babar said on the floor of the house, "The ISI collected some Rs140 million from Habib Bank Ltd and distributed among a number of politicians prior to the 1990 elections."
The letter was subsequently converted into a constitutional petition by the chief justice. According to the petitioner, he had sent the first letter with the sole purpose of exposing the role of the ISI in manoeuvring the election results and supporting its favourite politicians to fulfill political ends of the mighty military establishment. "You never know how many elections have been rigged and manoeuvred by the ISI in the past," Asghar Khan had stated in his letter to the chief justice.
Those made respondents in the case were Mirza Aslam Beg, former chief of army staff, retired Lt General Asad Durrani, ex-director-general of the ISI directorate, and Younis Habib, ex-chief of ex-Mehran Bank Ltd, then confined in Central Jail, Karachi.
In his written reply submitted to the supreme court, General Aslam Beg had conceded that it had been a routine for the ISI to support the favourite candidates in elections under directives of the successive chief executives.
He had stated in his reply, "The receipt of Rs 140 million by the ISI from Younas Habib in 1990 was under the directions of the chief executive. The ISI director-general also informed me that funds so received were properly handled and the accounts were maintained. I had also briefed the then president of Pakistan Ghulam Ishaq Khan on the issue".
The election was subsequently won by the IJI led by Nawaz Sharif, who had allegedly received billions of rupees from the ISI for his election campaign
Click on NEXT to read further....
