ISI Chief Lt Gen Zaheer ul-Islam Holds Talks with US Officials
WASHINGTON: The new Inter-Services Intelligence Chief Lieutenant General Zaheer ul-Islam held talks in the United States on Wednesday after a prolonged gap as the countries look to renew their uneasy cooperation in battling extremists.
The ISI Chief comes just after Pakistan agreed to give NATO convoys access to its border with Afghanistan.
Islam held meetings Wednesday at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia, a person familiar with his trip said. Spokespeople for the CIA and Pakistani embassy declined comment.
Islam was appointed in March after the retirement of ISI chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha, who led the agency since September 2008.
Pakistan had shut its border to NATO convoys in November last year after a US air strike killed 24 Pakistani troops.
Islamabad reopened land routes seven months later after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said sorry over the deaths.
On Tuesday, Pakistan signed a deal to let convoys through until the end of 2015, in a major relief for the United States, which plans to pull most troops out of Afghanistan before then.
The United States and Pakistan have also been deeply divided over unmanned US air strikes against militants, with Islamabad saying that the drones violate the country’s sovereignty and increase anti-US sentiment. via: thenews.com.pk
….
According to US Newspaper “New York Times”, as in 2013 Gen Kayani will be retired as a Army Chief of Pakistan Military, then, most probably the next Pakistan army chief will be Lt. Gen Zaheer ul Islam,
Lt. Gen. Zahir ul-Islam will take over as the director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, or ISI, on March 18, replacing Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, who has held the post since 2008, a spokesman for Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said.
The ISI chief is the second most powerful figure in the military — some would argue in the country — and General Islam is likely to play a significant role in peace talks with the Afghan Taliban, a movement the ISI has long been accused of supporting.
Although the ISI officially reports to the prime minister, in reality it is controlled by the army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, with whom General Pasha had a close relationship during the agency’s turbulent relationship with the United States in recent years.
Lt Gen Zaheer Ul Islam Biography Wikipedia
Lieutenant-General Zaheer ul-Islam HI(M)
Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI Pakistan)
Incumbent:
Assumed office: March 2012
President: Asif Ali Zardari
Preceded by: Ahmad Shuja Pasha
Personal details:
Born: 1956
Military service:
Allegiance: Pakistan
Service/branch: Pakistan Army
Rank: Lieutenant General
Commands: Deputy DG ISI
Commander: V Corps
Awards: Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military)
Lieutenant-General Zaheer ul-Islam (Urdu: ﻇﻬﻴﺮ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻡ)HI(M) is the current Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI); he was appointed to the position on 9 March 2012. Islam took over the position from his predecessor Ahmed Shuja Pasha, who left on 18 March. At the time of his appointment, he was serving as the Corps Commander V Corps, Karachi.
Islam comes from a family with a prominent military background. His father retired as a brigadier in the Pakistan Army, while his three brothers and his brother-in-law Major Ejaz Aziz also retired as military officers. In addition, he is a nephew of the Indian National Army general and politician Shah Nawaz Khan, who was also the adoptive maternal grandfather of Bollywood film actor Shahrukh Khan. However, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) refused to acknowledge any distant familial links between Zaheerul Islam and Shahrukh Khan.
Military career
Zaheerul Islam was commissioned in the Punjab Regiment in the 55th PMA Long Course on 16 April 1977. He served as Corps Commander V Corps in Karachi before appoinment of ISI Chief. Zaheer served as DG (C) in the ISI before he was promoted as a 3-star general and moved to Karachi as corps commander. He was GOC Murree for some time before coming to the ISI. He also served as Chief of Staff in the Army Strategic Force Command for 2004-2006.
