Pakistan's Deep State: How the ISI and Military Control Power and Fund Terror

The Pakistani Deep State's Grip on Power

• 🎯 Real power in Pakistan resides not with elected civilians but with the generals in Rawalpindi and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
• 🔑 For 75 years, the Pakistani deep state has maintained control using a combination of "Allah, army, and America," manipulating war, peace, religion, and terror.
• 📈 Since its independence in 1947, Pakistan has spent nearly half its existence under direct military rule, with civilian governments holding power for the remainder.

Military Rule and the ISI's Evolution

• 🏛️ Pakistan has experienced multiple military coups, starting with General Ayub Khan in 1958, followed by General Yahya Khan, General Zia-ul-Haq (who aligned with the US for the Afghan Jihad), and General Pervez Musharraf.
• 💡 The ISI, initially a military intelligence agency, evolved into Pakistan's most powerful institution, orchestrating the mujahideen war in Afghanistan with CIA support.
• 🔄 Later, the ISI shifted tactics, funding and training groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed to wage proxy wars in Kashmir, while also providing sanctuary to Osama bin Laden.

Civilian Leaders vs. The Military

• ⚠️ Civilian leaders who challenge the military's authority, like Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan, have been ousted, exiled, or jailed.
• 💥 Imran Khan's defiance led to unprecedented violence, with PTI workers targeting the homes of brigadiers and generals.
• 📉 The current Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, governs with a constant eye on the military's directives, perceived as one of Pakistan's weakest leaders.

Military as a Business Empire and Funding War

• 💰 The Pakistani military operates as a vast business empire, owning enterprises from cereals to banks, justifying massive defense budgets through perpetual conflict.
• 💸 The army's defense budget of over 2 trillion Pakistani rupees (approx. $7.5 billion USD) rivals the country's IMF bailout, highlighting a critical flow of funds the deep state protects.
• 💔 Peace threatens this cash flow; as long as there's a perceived threat from India, the army remains untouchable and profitable.

The Pahalgam Attack and Renewed Tensions

• 🎯 The recent Pahalgam terror attack, targeting tourists, fits a pattern of escalating terrorism whenever stability emerges in Kashmir, aiming to derail peace processes.
• 🇨🇳 China and Pakistan echo similar calls for impartial probes, mirroring past instances where such inquiries yielded no results.
• 🔍 The beneficiaries of renewed India-Pakistan tension point not to Islamabad but to Rawalpindi, especially as the Pakistani army faces internal and external pressures, including tensions with the Taliban and progress in Indian Kashmir.