The Inter-Services Intelligence (Urdu بین الخدماتی مخابرات, abbreviated as ISI) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan, operationally responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world. The ISI consists primarily of serving military officers drawn from the three service branches of the Pakistan Armed Forces (Army, Air Force, and Navy) and hence the name "Inter-Services."
The ISI gained global recognition and fame in the 1980s when it supported the Afghan Mujahideen against the Soviet Union during the Soviet–Afghan War in then-communist Afghanistan. During the war, the ISI worked with the CIA to train and fund the Mujahideen with American, Pakistani, and Saudi funds.
During more recent times, the ISI has come under increasing criticism for not having kept terrorist forces in society in check, and harboring terrorists such as Osama bin Laden.
In The Americans, Javid Pervez and Yousaf Rana are members of the ISI.