<p>
The newly appointed Shehbaz Sharif government has meekly surrendered to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the notorious Pakistan spy agency which has become even more powerful.</p>
<p>
Under a new notification issued on Thursday, the ISI for the first time will become a Special Vetting Agency (SVA) for induction, appointments and important posting of all officers in government.</p>
<p>
In other words, the ISI, which is part of the Pakistani military will have a veto power overall all senior appointments, giving is enormous power of patronage that can be leveraged to manoeuvre the entire ruling establishment.</p>
<p>
Prior to the latest order it was the civilian-controlled Intelligence Bureau (IB) at the federal and Special Branch at the provincial level that had the power to inspect and examine the appointments/ postings/ promotions, The News International reported.</p>
<p>
Sharif&rsquo;s decision has triggered considerable anxiety in Pakistan. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) tweeted that it is &ldquo;deeply concerned&rdquo; by the decision, pointing out that&nbsp; that &ldquo;the role of military in civilian affairs needs to recede if Pakistan is to move forward as a democracy.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">
HRCP is deeply concerned by PM <a href="https://twitter.com/CMShehbaz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CMShehbaz</a>&#39;s decision to task the ISI officially with screening civil servants before inductions, appointments and postings. The role of the military in civilian affairs needs to recede if Pakistan is to move forward as a democracy. <a href="https://t.co/0GObQXhpJr">pic.twitter.com/0GObQXhpJr</a></p>
&mdash; Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (@HRCP87) <a href="https://twitter.com/HRCP87/status/1533019298989481984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><p>
Pakistan netizens have flooded Twitter with criticism about the newly appointed PM&rsquo;s decision.</p>
<p>
<strong>Also Read:</strong> <a href="https://wire.aniin.net/news/pakistani-army-not-govt-to-call-shots-over-appointment-of-next-chief-as-bajwa-retires-in-november20220531142517/">Pakistani army not govt to call shots over appointment of next cheif as Bajwa retires in November 2022</a></p>
On the 4th death anniversary of human rights activist Karima Baloch, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee…
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit the US from December 24-29 to discuss key…
Students at the Bolan Medical College (BMC) in Balochistan's Quetta entered the 27th day of…
The intensifying cutting of trees for firewood in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) is not only worsening…
A group of retired judges, bureaucrats, Army officials and other civil society members have penned…
Israel and Slovakia signed a 2 billion shekel (USD 582 million) agreement on Monday to…