By Makhdoom Babar
Editor-in-Chief

PRIME Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has declared that the extension given to General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s term as Chief of the Army Staff had secured the position of all ‘major stakeholders’ of the system — the president, prime minister, Supreme Court chief justice and army chief — till 2013.
Talking to journalists after a visit to the Pakistan Sweet Home project in Sihala, Mr. Gilani said it was now incumbent upon all institutions to work within the ambit of the Constitution.
Mr. Gilani’s prescience and pragmatism must be appreciated but it must be pointed that the honourable Prime Minister, perhaps in a touch of amnesia, has chosen to ignore the fifth stakeholder in the war against terror, Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, whose service tenure was extended in March 2010, thus early 2011, he will be constrained to hand over the reins of one of the most powerful and operationally sound agencies in the world, the ISI. Inter Services Intelligence Agency has been recognized and its efficacy has been acknowledged by the CIA, Mossad and others. RAW shudders at its name and blames the ISI for even natural calamities afflicting India like cyclones, hurricanes and plague. The 1979-1989 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was effectively countered by ISI and CIA to rout the USSR and ultimately contributing to the disintegration of the mighty super power. The current incumbent has been its head for the period since Pakistan decided to lock horns with the terrorists.
The Army’s successes in Swat and South Waziristan is due to military prowess but the intelligence background provided by the ISI has been invaluable. Without the intelligence inputs, the fleeting enemy, its secret dungeons, its training grounds, its indoctrination techniques, its recruitment drives, all have been effectively thwarted by the ISI.
The role of ISI can be ignored only at the peril of inviting trouble since India has bent backwards in blackballing this master agency. Admiral Mike Mullen, Richard Holbrooke et al have been constantly brainwashed against the ISI.   Under the circumstances, its head must have continuity, especially since the endgame in Afghanistan is in sight.
The Daily Mail very strongly believes that to see through this critical juncture, its head Lt Gen Pasha must also be given extension till 2013 so that all stakeholders are free to plan, execute and conduct the war against terror without hindrances.