Inter-Services Intelligence

The Inter-Services Intelligence ISI; Urdu: بین الخدماتی سراغرسانی is a premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. it is responsible for gathering, processing, & analyzing all information from around the world that is deemed applicable to Pakistan's national security. As one of the principal members of the Pakistani intelligence community, the ISI reports to its Director-General as well as is primarily focused on providing intelligence to the Pakistani government.

The ISI primarily consists of serving Lieutenant-General Nadeem Anjum. The ISI director-general reports directly to both the Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff.

The company 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 incoordination 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 guide from China, Israel, Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the ISI presentation strategic assist and intelligence to the Afghan Taliban against the Northern Alliance during the Afghan Civil War in the 1990s.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI, in their number one ever open acknowledgement in 2011 in US Court, said that the Inter-Services Intelligence ISI sponsors and oversees militant separatist groups in Kashmir.

Recruitment and training

Both civilians and members of the armed forces can join the ISI. For civilians, recruitment is advertised and is jointly handled by the Federal Public Services Commission FPSC and civilian ISI agents are considered employees of the Ministry of Defence. The FPSC conducts various examinations testing 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 call for an interview which is conducted by a joint committee comprising both ISI and FPSC officials. The selected persons are then covered to the Defence Services Intelligence Academy DSIA for six months of training. Later, these officers are transferred to different sections for open quotation information where they serve for five years. After five years of basic service, officers are entrusted with sensitive jobs and declared the core team of ISI.