Robert Cawthome

Sir Robert Cawthome (Urdu: رابرٹ کوتھوم‎) was the co-founder of the Inter-Services Intelligence and founder of Pakistan Army Corps of Signals. He served as two star Major-General in the Pakistan army and later as 2nd Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence.[1][2]

Major-General Robert Cawthome
رابرٹ کوتھوم
Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence
In office 1950–1959
Succeeded by	Riaz Hussain
Personal details
Born	Robert Cawthome Australia
Died	England
Nationality	Pakistani
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom  Pakistan
Branch/service	British Army  Pakistan Army
Years of service	1947-1950
Rank	Major-General
Commands	Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence Chief of Staff
Battles/wars	World War II Indo-Pakistani War of 1947

Career

Robert Bill Cawthome was born in Australia and was a major general in the British Indian Army in the British India. After independence of Pakistan and India, he moved to Pakistan and joined the newly formed Pakistan army. He formed Pakistan Army Corps of Signals and served as the Deputy Chief of Staff in the army. Cawthome founded the Inter-Services Intelligence in 1948 along with Syed Shahid Hamid and some others after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948, which exposed weaknesses in intelligence gathering between the Pakistan Army, Air Force, Navy, Intelligence Bureau and Military Intelligence.[3] The policies of the agency were his brain-child. He was promoted to two star Major-General in the army. In 1950 he became Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence preceding Syed Shahid Hamid.[4][5][6] He was succeeded by Riaz Hussain in 1959. After his retirement, Cawthome moved back to the United Kingdom and lived there till his death. He still remains the longest-serving DG ISI, serving in the position for nine years.[7]

References

1. "The turbulent History of the State within a State". The Telegraph India. February 28, 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-04-14. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
2. "Pakistan clips spy agency's wings". The Australian. July 28, 2008. Archived from the original on 2013-04-14. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
3. "Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
4. Pike, John (2002-07-25). "Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)". Federation of American Scientists. Archived from the original on 2013-04-09. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
5. Anwar Hussain Syed; Research Society of Pakistan (2007). Issues and realities of Pakistani politics. Research Society of Pakistan, University of the Punjab. ISBN 978-969-425-099-1. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
6. "ISI". Archived from the original on 2013-04-14. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
7. Shah, Sabir (23 September 2014). "Maj-Gen Robert Cawthome was the longest-serving ISI chief". The News. Retrieved 30 August 2015.