Update: Representative of Pakistan's top spymaster to help India probe into Mumbai attacks

Instead of Director General of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), his representative will visit India to help Indian government in the investigations of Mumbai mayhem, Prime Minister House sources said on early Saturday.

Earlier, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday extended Pakistan’s support to India in jointly combating extremism and terrorism and offered to send its intelligence chief to help with Mumbai investigation. Dr. Singh requested the Prime Minster Gilani to send Director General of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) to India for exchange of information in this regard.

The Prime Minister accepted the request and said that after working out modalities by both the governments, the ISI chief will visit India at the earliest, sources added.

A number of former Army generals and political leaders belonging to opposition parties on Friday bitterly criticised the government for hastily acceding to the New Delhi’s demand of sending the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director-general to India and termed the decision bowing down to India.

“Former military dictator Pervez Musharraf had bowed down to the US immediately after 9/11 and had let the nation down and now the sitting rulers have humiliated the nation by bowing down to India,” said Lt-Gen (retd) Hamid Gul, former chief of ISI, while commenting on the development.

“We are losing our position. The decision of sending the ISI director-general to India should have been taken through diplomatic channels,” he added. Saying the preliminary information suggested that “some elements” in Pakistan were responsible for the terror strikes in Mumbai, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday asked his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani to send ISI chief to Delhi to share information on Mumbai terror attacks.

Admitting that Islamabad had assured New Delhi it would not allow use of its territory for launching attacks against India and without disclosing any concrete evidence, Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said: “According to preliminary information, some elements in Pakistan are responsible for Mumbai terror attacks. Proof cannot be disclosed at this time.”

The former top spymaster of the country said India should not have demanded Pakistan to send the ISI chief to New Delhi. He said had Pakistan needed help of the Indian intelligence chief, they would have never allowed it.

“It seems there is no authority in Pakistan. It is not information-sharing but in fact an interrogation of the ISI chief and the United States is doing this behind the scenes,” he said. “Washington wants India and Pakistan to wage its so-called war on terror,” he remarked.

Lt-Gen (retd) Hamid Gul said in view of his experience as top spymaster of the country, he could say confidently that it (the Mumbai attacks) is an inside job to pressurise Pakistan. “The summoning of the ISI chief is a pretext that is part of the greater objective of getting the ISI dissolved,” Hamid Gul said. “It is a credible institution of Pakistan and sentiments of the Pakistani nation are being hurt by making a mockery of this institution,” he said.

The former ISI chief said he would also raise the issue in the next meeting of the Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Society because the rulers could not be allowed to play around with an institution like the ISI.

When approached for comments, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed and various political leaders and defence analysts also expressed similar views and questioned the government’s move of sending the ISI chief to New Delhi.

They questioned the way the decision was taken and said such a decision should have been taken after following a due process through diplomatic channels and after weighing all its pros and cons as well as the national sentiments.

They said the decision of the government would be opposed and protested tooth and nail because it is detrimental to the very job of the supreme intelligence outfit of the country.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has reached Islamabad cutting short the visit of India on Saturday morning. Earlier, Foreign Minister Qureshi left for Pakistan by a special plane. Besides holding talks with his Indian counterpart, he visited Chandigarh and Ajmer Sharif. He also addressed India Women Press corps here last night.

The chief of Pakistan's military intelligence agency, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), will soon go to India to help investigate the Mumbai attacks, the premier's spokesman told foreign news agency.

ISI lieutenant general Ahmed Shuja Pasha will leave shortly to share intelligence with Indian security officials, said premier Yousuf Raza Gilani's spokesman, Zahid Bashir.

"Initially, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a request to our prime minister that he should send the ISI Chief to India to help in ongoing investigations and further intelligence sharing," he said.

"The prime minister of Pakistan responded positively and said both governments need to work out modalities for the early arrival of the ISI chief in India."

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani called on President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr and discussed with him Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh request for sending Inter Services Intelligence(ISI)chief to India, overall political and economic situation of the country.

According to sources, both President and Prime Minister renewed their offer of cooperation for Mumbai attacks investigations. President Zardari said that leveling charges against Pakistan without evidences is regrettable.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has requested his Pakistani counterpart Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani to send Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) chief to India for exchange of information in connection with Mumbai attacks.

Prime Minister Gilani called his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh and expressed profound grief over loss of lives in the wake of Mumbai terror attacks that left 130 people dead.

Prime Minister strongly denounced the acts of terrorism in Mumbai and assured Indian Premier of his full cooperation.

“On behalf of the people and Government of Pakistan, I wish to express our deep shock and sorrow at last night’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai”, he said.

Indian premier on this occasion requested that ISI chief should be sent to India as cooperation in ongoing investigation into the Mumbai mayhem.

It may be recalled here that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qurehsi is also scheduled to meet Manmohan Singh today.