Difference Between Indian RAW vs Pakistan ISI
Government Intelligence is a cerebral approach to warfare and Military Tactics. This is an agency specially designed to gather information discreetly on enemy factions or countries and has since inspired movies on espionage like James Bond. Information gathered may then enable the concerned government or political group to gain an upper hand in a certain issue or affair. All countries and factions have Intel, some may be more technologically advanced than others, but their purpose is the same: gather pertinent data and relay that data to the proper authorities.
India, like any other nation, sports an Intelligence agency of its own. The country, after being under British reign for several years, was left with plenty of British developments and legacies and one of the legacies left behind was the IB, an Intelligence agency. However, after two wars and the obvious lack of proper intelligence in the IB, India engineered a separate external intelligence agency which they have then named Research and Analysis Wing or RAW at the directive of then Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi. This step was taken in hope of avoiding further lapses in the collection of political and military data on neighbouring countries and other major international players. RAW entails sending out their agents to foreign countries thru covert diplomatic missions. RAW also involves recruiting those who are already residing in nations of interest.
Pakistan, too, also boasts of an Intel. However, instead of being an independent body, Pakistan’s Intelligence agency is part of its government, meaning, it is under the Pakistani administration. Pakistan’s intelligence agency is known as Inter Services Intelligence or ISI which consists of capable officers from the Navy, Army, and Air Force. ISI currently has 3 important divisions: Internal Political Issues, External Intelligence, and Counter Intelligence, all of which were improved after the 1980 Soviet- Afghanistan War. Also, since ISI is under Pakistan government, its director general should also be a serving Lieutenant General of the army.
The main differences in the aforementioned Intelligence agencies are as follows:
- RAW’s country of Origin is India, whereas ISI belongs to that of Pakistan
- RAW headquarters is found in New Delhi; ISI on the other hand, is in Islamabad.
- RAW is independent of the Indian Army; ISI is part and parcel of the Pakistan Army.