The Covert Action Division (CAD) is generally considered the most secretive special operations force of Pakistan.

[1] After the formation of ISI in 1948, Pakistan faced a challenge in the Tribal Agencies of Waziristan caused by Faqir of Ipi.

Its role was expanded in the late 1980s to assist the Khalistan movement, headed by Jagjit Singh Chauhan.

Since 1990s, there have been strong allegations that CAD teams are involved in recruiting and training terrorists from Pakistani Kashmir to operate in India.

They are also trained to a high level of proficiency in the tactical employment of an unusually wide degree of modern weaponry, improvised explosive devices, irregular warfare tactics, explosive devices and firearms (foreign and domestic), hand-to-hand combat, high performance/tactical driving (on and off-road), apprehension avoidance (including picking handcuffs and escaping from confinement), cyber warfare, covert channels, parachuting, SCUBA diving, proficiency in foreign languages, surreptitious entry operations (picking or otherwise bypassing locks), vehicle hot-wiring, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape, extreme survival and wilderness training, combat EMS medical training, tactical communications, and tracking.