Afrah Jamal

Published in Global Affairs / July 2016 Edition Pakistan made a troubling discovery in its backyard recently. Notwithstanding his mild mannered appearance, Kulbhushan Jadhav (sometimes spelt as Yadav) has been positively identified as an Indian national, a Commander in the Indian Navy with a preference for aliases. He is currently using the name Hussein Mubarak Patel. Initial interrogation had also brought to light his role as the ring leader of a large network of spies and saboteurs operating indiscriminately in Pakistan’s Balochistan province and the city of Karachi at the behest of the premier Indian Intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). From the Pakistani vantage point Jadhav’s arrest qualified as an intelligence coup. The Indian reaction predictably was one of denial. Jadhav was immediately disavowed but in the face of compelling evidence, they grudgingly acknowledged him as one of their own even as they continued to maintain that he had retired from ...

(Published in SHE Magazine June 2011) 7 years ago, Tim McGirk of TIME wondered if ISI could help find Bin Laden. In a way they did. Pakistan’s decision to share a critical piece of information sealed Osama bin Laden’s fate. But the hand that dealt the fatal blow was American. The Inter-Services Intelligence – (ISI), never popular to begin with, has seen its credibility plummet since 2nd May 2011. Other services have come into their share of criticism but trying to ascertain Pakistan’s top spy agency’s role in this fiasco can be a daunting challenge. In one day they were checkmated by an ally, became suspects in a crime, forced to be spectators of their own show and put on public trial. Over the years, visiting American scholars have expressed incredulity at ISI’s inability to locate bin Laden given the agencies reach (deep) and reputation (fearsome). While they may be convinced in their minds of ISI’s duplicity, its head, Lieutenant General Shuja Pasha has pleaded guilty to a le...

Book Review: Cutting Edge PAF WOMEN in the PAF: AN ENSEMBLE CAST by Afrah Jamal - Appeared in HILAL (Pakistan Armed Forces Magazine) Feb 2010 PAF: Both Sides of the COIN Published In HILAL(Military Mag) Jan 2010 INTERVIEW: What makes a Fighter Ace? Book Review: Three Presidents and an Aide - Life, Power and Politics by Ambassador Arshad Sami Khan SJ Appeared in Daily Times 9 Jan 2010 EVENT: It Happened This Morning.. VIEW: You can’t handle the truth? Book Review: Milestones in a Political Journey By M Asghar Khan PUBLISHED IN DAILY TIMES 23 JAN 2010 Sajad Haider Saved my Life - i think. UNPUBLISHED (so far) Book Review: FLIGHT OF THE FALCON Story of a Fighter Pilot by S. Sajad Haider PUBLISHED In Daily Times 16 Jan 2010 VIEW: A BASE FOR AN EYE (PUBLISHED IN GEO NEWS BLOG) VIEW: SPOOKS in the Dog House (Published in SHE Magazine June 2011) VIEW: An Inconvenient Truth — According To A Little Bird VIEW: Faisal Shahzad — the (un)true back story VIEW: No More Sit...

Wallace, Robert (Author) and Melton, H. Keith (Author) with Schlesinger, Henry R. (Author) Foreword by George J. Tenet Former Director CIA Reviewed by: Afrah Jamal Published in Daily Times / 06 Nov 2010, under the title: I Spy With My Little Eye Some in the intelligence business have been dismayed to find that they have been using gadgets relegated to spy museums long ago. As agencies operating under the espionage banner usher in a new era of covert warfare, asking the public to admire their enterprising nature may not be wise. Getting the agencies to set aside their secrecy clause long enough to admit to their past may not be possible. The ‘top gun of OTS’ CIA’s Office of Technical Service have been engaged in a battle of wits for half a century and their stories are worthy of attention. An insider’s look at the world of espionage especially OTS or ‘America’s Q’ and its fearsome capabilities besides being a cause for concern for rival agencies is a chance to observe ‘histor...