IB status raised to division, DG to act as secy

ISLAMABAD: The Caretaker government while making a major policy change has granted “Division” status to the Intelligence Bureau (IB) allowing its Director General (DG) to hold the additional role of secretary of the division.

Following the approval of the Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, the cabinet division has issued a formal notification to elevate the bureau’s status into division. Necessary consequential amendments in the Rules of Business, 1973 shall be made in the due course, the notification says. A former IB Chief and retired bureaucrats however termed this major policy change by the caretaker government in its last few days a hasty decision.

Talking about the importance of this decision, a former IB chief who requested not to quote his name said this decision should have been taken by the elected government. “It doesn’t make any sense that an elected government is in the process of taking charge but the caretaker government is taking such a major policy decision in its last days,” commented the former IB Chief.

“The ‘Division’ status will allow the IB Chief to attend the cabinet meetings which normally was not the case when the IB was operating as a bureau. Previously the IB Chief was invited whenever needed to brief the federal cabinet but now as a head of the Intelligence Bureau, he can participate in the cabinet meeting as an ex-officio member of the division. This is the only important reason that I see in this policy change,” said the former IB Chief.

Will this decision make any significant changes in the functioning of the IB? The former IB Chief while responding to this question said the decision won’t make any major change in the functioning of the bureau. After becoming the division, will the special funds of the IB be audited as required by the other divisions in the federal government, he said no, the government will not audit the funds of IB because of the nature of its work. There are a lot of funds at the disposal of the IB Chief and in some cases, the DG does not even need to inform about the utilization of these special funds because of the ongoing secret operations.

Will the transfer and postings of the IB officials be notified in the Gazette of Pakistan, as previously all the transfers and postings were carried out through an office order? To this question, the former IB Chief said the transfers and postings will continue through office orders even after the change.

A former bureaucrat, however, believes that after getting the status of division, IB’s funds will have to be audited now. The decision about this major policy change should have been taken by the elected government instead of a caretaker government. “After elevating IB to the status of division it will become easier for its officials to share intelligence,” commented the former bureaucrat.