ISLAMABAD: The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has long demanded full division status, which the caretaker government granted on Monday, allowing it total budgetary autonomy.
Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar made the decision, and then the IB was elevated as a division and a notification was sent out.
The notification states that the ex-officio secretary of the division shall be the director general of the IB. The IB division will report directly to the prime minister and will have a cabinet division office.
It is anticipated that the choice will also put an end to the meddling of additional divisions and people in the operations of the IB.
The IB formerly functioned under the cabinet division and had numerous issues, particularly in financial and administrative considerations, a top PM Office official told Dawn.
Previously, the IB received funding from the cabinet division, and the bureau was unable to make any purchases without the finance division’s approval.
Prior to the most recent action, the government had informed the cabinet division secretary that she was the chief accounting officer for the IB, and the financial adviser of the cabinet division had been closely monitoring all bureau expenses.
The official stated that the prime minister’s decision would allow the IB, with its own division, to ask and receive finances directly from the prime minister.
In a similar vein, the agency now has the authority to decide whether to transfer, post, or promote its officers.
SOURCE: DAWN NEWS
