Pakistan appoints new ISI chief

Pakistan yesterday appointed a new head of its powerful military intelligence agency -- an organisation which has been accused of maintaining links with Taliban militants in the past.
"Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has appointed lieutenant general Zaheer ul Islam, corps commander Karachi, as new director general Inter Services Intelligence (ISI)," a senior government official told AFP.
A statement later issued by Gilani's office confirmed the new appointment but gave no details.
"The outgoing ISI chief lieutenant general Ahmed Shuja Pasha is retiring on March 18 and Islam will take up the position then," the official said.
Pasha, who was appointed ISI chief in September 2008, is considered to be close to Pakistan's military chief Ashfaq Kayani, who ran the intelligence agency himself until October 2007.
Pakistan strongly denies any such links, although former military ruler Pervez Musharraf admitted in 2006 that some retired Pakistani intelligence officers may have been abetting extremists.