The shadowy figure known only as “Bade Sahab” is the central, unseen tormentor of the film Dhurandhar. He is the ultimate puppet master who connects the street-level drug trade of Karachi to the highest echelons of state-sponsored terror. The puzzle of his identity is brilliantly complicated by the film’s narrative structure, which suggests a constant, unchanging authority, even though the two crucial references to him are separated by years of geopolitical upheaval.

The References

The first reference surfaces around 2004, when the disgraced but about to be reinstated SP Chaudhary Aslam is working on behest of this unseen authority. The bargain revolves around drugs—a sensitive topic that hints at the murky, black-budget financial operations of the state. Aslam, a police officer, is clearly working for an authority that transcends either the civilian government or the military and can grant him absolute power over life and death in the streets.

The second reference arrives dramatically in 2008. This time, the messenger is the cold-blooded terrorist Major Iqbal (the character based on the notorious ISI operative Ilyas Kashmiri). Iqbal, a high-ranking asset of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), demands weapons for the final stages of the Mumbai terror plot and confirms to gang leader Rehman Baloch that the massive, high-risk operation has the ultimate blessing of “Bade Sahab.”

This presents the ultimate paradox: How can the same “Bade Sahab” command both a regional police officer dealing with drug cartels and an ISI Major planning an international terror attack?

The Scars of Narco-Jihad: pakistan in 2004

The term Narco-Jihad describes the convergence of illicit drug trafficking—primarily heroin from Afghan opium—with militant funding and operations in the Af-Pak region. By 2004, this nexus had become the lifeblood of terror groups and a massive geopolitical problem. The cash flow was immense, untraceable, and essential for outfits operating in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Kashmir.

The Pakistani state’s stance on the Narco-Jihad was inherently contradictory:

  1. The Strategic Need: The state needed the money flow to remain intact to fund its long-term strategic assets and proxy wars (e.g., in Kashmir).
  2. The Domestic Chaos: That same drug money was fueling organized crime, gang warfare, and political instability in major cities like Karachi, creating a domestic security crisis.

The military’s response was to control, not eliminate, the nexus.

This is where SP Chaudhary Aslam’s dark bargain enters the story. He is shown eliminating the people siphoning cocaine.

The Indisputable Evidence of SP’s collaboration with military

As the years passed, Aslam’s focus broadened to include hardline militant groups. He later led Karachi’s anti-terror operations, becoming a relentless “Taliban hunter.” His target list expanded to include groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), and others. This relentless pursuit earned him the undying hatred of the Pakistani Taliban.

The threads of his life—fighting the gangs for his military patrons, and fighting the Taliban in defiance of them—converged in a fatal blast. The fact is stark: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the suicide attack that ultimately killed SP Chaudhary Aslam in January 2014. The TTP openly stated they targeted him for his “extrajudicial killing of Taliban prisoners” and his operations against them.

The importnat point to notice is that a police officer does not report to the ISI, nor does he report to the COAS (Chief of Army Staff). However, the military often exercises operational command over civilian agencies, especially in matters of national security and when enforcing “aid to civil power.” The person who signs off on the deployment of military assets and who controls the operational strategy for all security issues is the Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO).

The Institutional Link: General Kayani in 2004

In 2004, the military officer in charge of coordinating all major intelligence and military operations, the DGMO, was Lieutenant General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

It would have been Gen Kayani, as the top operational planner, the ultimate authority “bade sahab”, who either directly sanctioned the use of an asset like SP Chaudhary Aslam or who commanded the military apparatus that provided the green light for his use, giving him the terrifying authority to kill with impunity. His “Bade Sahab” was the General who provided institutional protection in exchange for cleaning up the Narco-Jihad’s messy domestic fallout.

The Sanction for Catastrophe: Major Iqbal and the ISI (2008)

When the scene shifts to 2008, the stakes are no longer local gangs; they are geopolitical war. Major Iqbal, the character modeled after the ISI’s key asset, Ilyas Kashmiri, is demanding weapons for the audacious Mumbai attack. When he confirms the plot has the blessing of “Bade Sahab,” he is referencing the authority that controls the entire military-terror nexus.

The reality behind the 26/11 attacks confirms that this “Bade Sahab” had to be the Chief of the entire military institution, as the plot was undeniably state-sponsored.

The Indisputable Evidence of ISI Sponsorship

The trail of evidence leading back to the ISI is not speculation; it is derived from confessions and judicial proceedings:

David Headley’s Testimony: The most damning evidence came from David Coleman Headley, the American-Pakistani operative who conducted the reconnaissance for the attacks. In his detailed testimony and confessions, Headley confirmed that he worked directly for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), but reported to, and was coordinated by, certain officers within the ISI. He specified that he received operational instructions, funds, and reconnaissance tasks directly from an ISI official known as “Major Iqbal” (the very name used in the film). Headley’s trips to India between 2006 and 2008 were financed and directed by these handlers.

Targeting and Planning: Headley testified that the ISI handlers were interested in specific, strategic targets (the Jewish community center, the hotels frequented by Americans and British nationals) that served both LeT’s and the ISI’s political objectives. The operational sophistication—from the sea training to the sophisticated communication intercepts—required state-level assistance.

The Institutional Link: General Kayani in 2008

The ISI began nursing this plot as early as 2005, moving it forward while General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was the DG ISI (2004–2007). The attack was executed when he was the COAS (Chief of Army Staff).

The Sanctioning Authority: The sheer risk of the 26/11 attack—a plot that could plunge South Asia into war—meant it could never have been launched without the full, final sanction of the COAS. This individual is the ultimate “Bade Sahab,” the final veto, the sole General who commanded the entire military and intelligence apparatus.

The Chain of Command: Major Iqbal’s handler (the one who recruited him and assigned him to LeT) reported to the ISI hierarchy, which in turn reports to the COAS.

The seamless chronological placement of General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in all three roles—DGMO (2004), DG ISI (2004–2007), and COAS (2007–2013)—transforms the fictional “Bade Sahab” into a chillingly accurate representation of the single individual who oversaw the funding chaos and the final, horrific act of state-sponsored terror. He was the continuous, unchallenged master of the entire machine.

While this is a movie and the director can literally show anyone as “Bade Sahab” but could there actually be one person that would fit the role? What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading!!

Also read:

Leave a comment