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The establishment of the much dreaded political cell in Pakistan 's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is still shrouded in mystery, as the Supreme Court was informed that the notification concerning its birth, is yet to be found. Attorney General Irfan Qadir said that despite efforts, he could not find the notification issued by then chief executive Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1975 to set up a special political cell in the ISI, reports The Dawn. A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, is hearing a 1996 petition filed by Tehrik-i-Istiqlal chief Air Marshal (retired) Asghar Khan who has accused the ISI of financing politicians in the 1990 elections to the tune of Rs.140 million to create the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) and prevent Benazir Bhutto's PPP from winning the polls. The petition was based on an affidavit of former ISI chief Lt.Gen. (Retired) Asad Durrani. In a statement earlier submitted to the court, Durrani said the amount distributed by him was approximately Rs.70 million out of a total of Rs.140 million. The remaining amount was deposited in a special ISI fund. He said he had assigned the job of distributing the money to certain officers of the Military Intelligence who were aware that the money was for election purpose, and after doing so, had informed him about its distribution.

Birth of ISI's political cell still shrouded in mystery