The
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...
(ISI) intelligence agency of Pakistan allegedly ran an active
military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
program during the
Bosnian War which started in 1992 lasting until 1995. Allegedly executed and supervised by
General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
Javed Nasir
Lieutenant-General Javed Nasir ( Urdu: جاويد ناصر; born 1936) ), is a Pakistani retired engineering officer who served as the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), appointed on 14 March 1992 until 13 May 1993.
Known ...
, the program distributed and coordinated the systematic supply of arms to
ARBiH
The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, Armija Republike Bosne i Hercegovine or ARBiH), often referred to as Bosnian Army, was the military force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was established by the government of ...
during the war. The ISI Bosnian contingent was organized with
financial assistance provided by Saudi Arabia, according to the British historian
Mark Curtis.
Pakistan declared in a meeting of Muslim countries at Geneva in July 1995 that the UN arms embargo was illegal. Farooq Leghari, then president of Pakistan, stated that 'the Western policy of appeasement of the Serbian aggressors is not going to pay.' Pakistan subsequently declared that it would provide weapons to the Bosnian government in spite of the UN arms embargo. Pakistan became the fourth largest contributor of troops to the UN peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and pledged to keep its soldiers there to protect Bosnian Muslims and confront the Serbs while France and other countries wanted to withdraw their troops for the safety of their soldiers.
Nasir later confessed that, despite the
UN arms embargo in
Bosnia, the ISI airlifted anti-tank weapons and missiles to
ARBiH
The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, Armija Republike Bosne i Hercegovine or ARBiH), often referred to as Bosnian Army, was the military force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was established by the government of ...
which turned the tide in favor of Bosniaks and forced the Serbs to lift the siege.
In 2011, the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia demanded the custody of the former ISI director for his alleged support to forces of the Bosnian government against the
Army of Republika Srpska
The Army of Republika Srpska ( sr, Војска Републике Српске/Vojska Republike Srpske; ВРС/VRS), commonly referred to in English as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of Republika Srpska (RS), the self-proclaimed Serb ...
in the 1990s, the
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...
has refused to hand Nasir to the UN tribunal, citing poor health.
During the height of the conflict, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry evacuated many endangered
Bosnians from the conflict areas who
immigrated to Pakistan. The small nature of the program was mentioned and highlighted in the
Pakistani drama
Pakistani dramas, or Pakistani serials, are televised serials produced in Pakistan. Although most of the serials are produced in Urdu, an increasing number of them are produced in other Pakistani languages such as Sindhi, Pashto, Punjabi an ...
, ''
Alpha Bravo Charlie
''Alpha Bravo Charlie'' (Urdu: الفا براوو چارلی) is an action and thriller Pakistani drama, produced by ISPR and directed by Pakistani drama and film director Shoaib Mansoor.
It is a sequel to 1991 TV series '' Sunehray Din'' ' ...
'' in 1998. Since then, foreign relations have improved between
Pakistan and Bosnia.
See also
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Inter-Services Intelligence activities in Afghanistan
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) intelligence agency of Pakistan has been accused of being heavily involved in covertly running military intelligence programs in Afghanistan since before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The first I ...
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Inter-Services Intelligence activities in India
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Foreign relations of Pakistan
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan maintains a large network of diplomatic relations across the world. Pakistan is the second largest Muslim- majority country in terms of population ( after Indonesia) and is the only Muslim majority nation to ...
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Bosnia and Herzegovina–Pakistan relations
References
External research
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{{Inter-Services Intelligence
Bosnia and Herzegovina–Pakistan relations
Bosnia
Intelligence operations
Bosnian War