Intelligence Bureau (Pakistan)

Intelligence Bureau (IB) is Pakistan's main domestic/internal intelligence and espionage agency. It functions under direct control of Chief Executive of Pakistan - either Prime Minister or the President. The IB's tasks include counter-intelligence and internal Security matters.

The current Director-General is Javed Noor since 17 May 2009. Daily Times, 17 May 2009Salis bin Perwaiz. The News, 29 July 2008

Powers

Although the agency has no formal arrest powers, suspects are often arrested and detained by law enforcement agencies at the request of IB officials. In 1996, the IB was granted control of government censorship programs, controlling information dissemination via mail, wire, or electronic medium.

History

The existence of IB predates the creation of Pakistan, as it was a part of the pre-war Intelligence Bureau of British India, and the present day IB was created from elements given to Pakistan upon independence. It was initially the main Pakistani Agency, with responsibility for strategic and foreign intelligence, as well as counter-espionage and domestic affairs. Its performance in the 1948 war was however considered less than exemplary due to the fact that the pre-independence Bureau was concerned with internal security matters, and was not set up for foreign intelligence collection. As a result, after the war, a new agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was...
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