Thread by @WajSKhan

This #DGISI business needs a book, and a prayer, but here are my two cents.

The ISI, when seen from a strictly military perspective, is possibly the largest and most powerful formation in Pakistan.

It has a three-star Lieutenant General running at least six (6) two-star Major Generals and their wings.

Traditionally, PakMil Lieutenant Generals, when they get to command positions, lead a Corps (yes, they get to be a part of the famous/infamous "Corps Commanders Conference").

However, most Corp Commanders have, on average, two to three Major Generals, each with a Division, reporting to them.

Sure, some corps / formations are larger than others (e.g. Kashmir-centric X Corps is huge when compared to the smaller Quetta-based Southern Command).

But when it comes to resources as well as manpower, the ISI is in a league of its own.

Based on the Pakistan Army's 3x3x3 organizational module (traditionally, but not always, a corps has three divisions, a division has three brigades and a brigade has three units)...

...the very fact that [at least] six Major Generals assist the Lt. General leading the ISI doesn't necessarily mean that the ISI has six Divisions-worth of manpower...

But according to I.C. estimates and interviews with ISI officers, many more.

Unlike other military formations, the ISI has a triple-tier system of serving officers (some on secondment, some on detachment and some from the Corps of Military Intelligence), retired officers ("contractors" on "extension") and then a huge civilian component.

This last bit is where the real muscle lies.

Contrary to popular opinion, most of the ISI's manpower is comprised of civilians.

These may [or may not] include all types of personnel: from stenos and secretaries to assassins and interrogators.

Thus, the ISI, even when compared to its more Khaki cousin, the MI, is a strangely complex organization, with a small band of soldiers commanding what could be, in effect, almost 150,000 intelligence operatives - from signalers to special operators to cybersecurity professionals.

Combine that with the "Political" functions of the ISI machine -- from Patwaris to television anchors to parliamentarians themselves -- and the numbers would be even higher, maybe upto 500,000 or so men and women working directly or indirectly for the organization.

Resource-wise, that's unmatched and unprecented.

Today, the ISI has more men and women working for it than the Pakistan Air Force & the Pakistan Navy, combined. And with its indirect strength, it can certainly match he numbers of the 600,000 strong Pakistan Army.

Side Note: Budget-wise, published* estimates disclosed (till mid-2010s) that the ISI was receiving single-entry sums from the Government of Pakistan's annual budget equivalent to the Pak Navy.

*Those were published. Shell companies and other stream of revenue are not included.

Now take that & percolate it down to the latest drama in Islamabad.

By reputation, the DG-ISI (or DG-I, as the Army calls him) is the most powerful military officer in the land, short of the Chief of Army Staff.

But by process and access, he may be the most powerful.

Remember: the ISI was formed to gain foreign intelligence. Its initial ambit was gathering intel ex-Pakistan / abroad. Local intelligence and counter intelligence was the ambit of the MI, and the [civilian] IB and even the [civilian] Special Branch.

But its crucial role in the Afghan Jihad of 1980s, compounded by unprecedented access to training, cash and assets that followed, made the ISI something larger than what it was supposed to be.

Surely, Lt Generals A.A. Rehman & H. Gul laid the foundations of the modern ISI.

Fast forward to @ImranKhanPTI [some call him a Gul protege] & the latest drama between Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The @PakPMO political machinery is citing legalese about who gets to appoint the DG-ISI.

According to the rules, @fawadchaudhry says it's the PM. He's right. But...

If this is just a little song & dance to show the world that civilian supremacy matters in Pakistan & that the PM has a spine, great! The PM Office gets five stars for the drama & smoke screen.

But if Imran thinks that locking horns with GHQ over this appointment is worth it...

...and consequently Imran and his men base their arguments on legalese which "technically" makes him the boss of the ISI, then he must be clear that the legalese he is citing is certainly dated, and not grounded in what the ISI really is: larger, if not smarter, than ever before.