ABSTRACT
The Afghan war occupied most of the ISI's time and resources. Still, Zia ul-Haq and the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) leadership kept an eye on Kashmir, dreaming of uniting it under Pakistan rule while, at the same time, avenging the humbling loss of East Pakistan to India. The Kashmir Bureau presumably resembled its Afghan counterpart in its structural layout with separate branches handling administration, operations, logistics, and psychological warfare. In spring 1987, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) began recruiting young men inside Kashmir for ISI camps in Pakistan. Brigadier Badam's number one challenge in managing Pakistan's scarcely covert war in Kashmir was the disunity afflicting all the militant groups. Taliban leader Mullah Omar was said to be especially close to the leadership of the Harakatul Mujahidin since both shared ideological roots in the Deobandist madrassas of northern Pakistan.
