SO then, the ISI has a media management wing, under the command of no less than a rear admiral ably assisted by a commodore, what?

Since when has the Mother of All Agencies arrogated to itself duties that should normally be performed by the ISPR and the Ministry of Information (in order of precedence), pray, and just which news does it manage?

Whilst others may be mildly surprised — I say mildly because the ISI virtually runs all the important ministries anyway — this is no secret revealed to me for I have in my possession a tell-all letter written to the TV station I worked for once and where Asma Jahangir, Mujibur Rehman Shami and I had a talk show some years ago. Which we hugely enjoyed, incidentally, all of us.

The letter was written by the ISPR to the station complaining about me saying in one of the programmes that when we talk about the damage done to the country by repeated military interventions, we should exclude the navy and the air force because the Mother of All Services, the army, was the service that imposed martial laws and its agencies the ISI and MI tripped up elected governments and brought no-confidence moves against them, not the other two for whom the army gave not a toss.

The complaint by the ISPR was, tellingly, also copied to the directorate general of the ISI for information, in a clear indication that it was the ISI that really called the shots when it came to ‘managing’ the media, the ISPR merely acting as the ‘post office’ as ineffective offices are referred to in army parlance. It was also a chilling message, telling me in no uncertain terms that the much-feared Mother of All Agencies was watching all, and was in the know of my trespasses regarding the holy cow of Pakistan.

It therefore came as no surprise to me when it was revealed, and then reinforced by a strong and unequivocal statement by the president of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society, Hameed Haroon, that the brutally murdered Salim Shahzad had said in emails to him and to at least three others that he had been threatened by various ISI officers on at least three occasions in the past five years, the last threat coming from the ‘media managers’ in a meeting at the ISI headquarters which Saleem recorded in an email to Hameed Haroon on Oct 18, 2010.

Whilst I knew him from his excellent write-ups, I got to know Saleem from the time when we both, among others, attended a briefing/news conference at the American embassy after which I received a telephone call at near midnight from a ‘private number’ asking if I had that day gone to the embassy. When I asked who was speaking and who wanted to know, there was a pause and then the voice said, “IB”. (Like hell, I thought to myself!).

I told the caller that midnight was no time to call anyone, and that if someone wanted to ask questions the person would be welcome to visit me in Wah for a cuppa and we could then talk about what was bothering the ‘IB’. That is the last I heard from the caller. Saleem told me the next day that he had been summoned by the ISI and questioned in detail about what transpired during the briefing/question-and-answer session.

Whilst I myself did not have the pleasure to meet my caller in the flesh, I do keep getting dumb calls from ‘private numbers’ at regular intervals, once prompting me to request My Lord the Chief Justice of Pakistan to start suo motu proceedings against cellphone companies who extend this ‘private number’ service to state actors.

Saleem and I spoke on the telephone several times after that meeting (the ‘IB’ must surely have a record of those conversations because we both knew our telephones were ‘tapped’!) during which we spoke about the duality and double-dealing of the Deep State which we agreed would lead to no good for the country — as we are today witnessing to our great cost.

I am devastated that this bright young man is no more; I am even more appalled at the way in which he was killed — not quickly with a bullet in the back of the head but beaten to death. This was not any ordinary murder by someone with whom he had a simple enmity. This was a terribly vicious and brutal murder to send a clear message to others who step out of line: that a horrible end awaited them too if they did not cease and desist. RIP young friend: may your family have the strength to bear your irreparable loss. And may your young ones grow up to be as upstanding as their good father.

I must say that I am heartened to read in the ISI statement on Saleem’s death that, “ISI offers its deepest and heartfelt condolence to the bereaved family and assures them that it will leave no stone unturned in helping to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice”. Well, since according to itself and its apologists it is the bestest intelligence agency in the universe and in the worlds beyond it has its job cut out for it.

We are an inquisitive people who mind other people’s business more than we mind our own — someone must have seen something. Since all the fingers are pointing at the ISI mainly because Saleem’s last communication setting out the threat to many people can be said to be his last testament, it should indeed leave no stone unturned. Let it clear its battered name somewhat.

kshafi1@yahoo.co.uk