General Hameed Gul, former chief of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), has said that the ISI’s strategy to infiltrate India’s armed forces is “as old as Pakistan” itself, but this was unlikely to derail the peace process between the two countries. “We have had an adverse relation with India. It is a method to protect ourselves and getting the information in advance,” said Gen Gul in a discussion with Indian channel CNN-IBN, following the arrest last week of two Indian army men who were alleged ISI moles. Former Indian army chief Gen Shankar Roy Choudhary and national security expert V Raman also took part in the discussion.
Asked if ISI’s espionage activities could lead to derailment of the peace process between the two countries, Gul said, “No, not at all.”
“It goes on all the time. The Soviet Union and the US continued to advance their interest through means other than confrontation. Intelligence agencies have to do certain things and this is offensive intelligence,” he added.