Robert Cawthome ( ur, ) was the co-founder of the

Inter-Services Intelligence The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...

and founder of Pakistan Army Corps of Signals. He served as two star

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the

Pakistan army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

and set up the ISI to become its second

Director General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive (government), executive officer, often the chief executive offi ...

Career

Robert Bill Cawthome was born in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and was a major general in the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

in the

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. After independence of Pakistan and India, he moved to Pakistan and joined the newly formed

. He formed Pakistan Army Corps of Signals and served as the Deputy Chief of Staff in the army. Cawthome founded the

in 1948 along with

Syed Shahid Hamid Major General Syed Shahid Hamid ( ur, ) HJ (17 September 1910 – 12 March 1993) was a two-star general in the Pakistan Army, and a close associate of President Ayub Khan. Hamid was the first Master General of Ordnance (MGO) of the Pakist ...

and some others after the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948, or the First Kashmir War, was a war fought between India and Pakistan over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir from 1947 to 1948. It was the first of four Indo-Pakistani wars that was fought between t ...

, which exposed weaknesses in intelligence gathering between the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

, Intelligence Bureau and

Military Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

. The policies of the agency were his brain-child. He was promoted to two star

in the army. In 1950 he became

Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence The director-general (DG) is head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's premier intelligence service, operationally responsible for providing critical national security and intelligence assessment to the government of Pakistan. Colo ...

succeeding

. He was succeeded by Riaz Hussain in 1959. After his retirement, Cawthome moved back to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and lived there till his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cawthorne, Robert British Indian Army officers Pakistani generals Pakistani spies Directors General of Inter-Services Intelligence Australian emigrants to Pakistan Year of birth missing Year of death missing