No political cell working in spy agency since five years: Defence Secretary

Categorically denying presence of any political cell in the spy agency, Defence Secretary Lt-General (Retd) Asif Yasin Malik has made it clear that the cell of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was disbanded five years ago.

While briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Defence and Defence Production, the secretary dispelled all rumors of any political cell operating within the intelligence agency since the past five years.

The committee met with Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed  in the chair to discuss the defence related issues. The secretary submitted details of the defence budget before the Standing Committee.

Regular audits were conducted in all defence-related sectors and institutions, including the ISI, Malik said.

The committed was informed that the defence budget for the current fiscal year was Rs545 billion — out of which Rs264 billion had been allocated to the Army, Rs114 billion to the Air Force, Rs52 billion to the Navy and Rs92 billion to the ISI, the joint staff headquarters, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) and defence production.

The secretary while replying to a query said that the US had conducted drone attacks from the Shamsi airbase while it was still operational. The attacks, he said, were carried out under the government’s approval.

He added that the US had paid Pakistan $12 billion since 9/11 and that it had not made any payments to Pakistan for its use of Shamsi airbase.

The airbase was vacated by the US on December 11, 2011, following the Defence Cabinet Committee’s decision in the aftermath of the Salala attack by Nato forces which killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

However, the defence secretary later denied the comment regarding the use of Shamsi airbase by the US for its drone strikes.

Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed while speaking to the media said, “The committee underlined the need for more transparency of the budget spent on the defence of the country, and that parliamentary oversight of defence spending is a must to ensure good governance and transparency.”

Pakistan ranked 33rd in the world as far as defence expenditure is concerned, adding that it is now 2.3% of GDP, he added.

He further stated that the committee had decided to revisit the defence paradigm and would prepare a defence policy strategy document after receiving input from all stakeholders.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Oct 23 2012. Filed under National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.