NEW ISI Chief Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha September 2008

Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha (born 1952)[1] is the current Director of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's premier intelligence service.

Background

Pasha has commanded an infantry division, a mechanized infantry brigade, an infantry battalion and has served as the Chief Instructor of the Command and Staff College of the Pakistani Army. From 2001-2002, General Pasha served as a Contingent and Sector Commander of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone.[1] From 2005 to September 2008 Pasha was the director general of military operations for the Pakistani army.[3]

ISI appointment

The newly elected civilian government of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani tried for two months to gain control of the appointment for the director of the ISI as well as place the agency under the administrative, financial, and operational control of the Interior Ministry.[4] However, the attempt failed when Chief of the Army, General Kayani appointed Pasha on September 29, 2008.[5] [2] Pasha’s prior post was responsible for planning operations against Taliban and al-Qaeda militants in the FATA and NWFP provinces of Pakistan, signaling a reorientation from the ISI's traditional Kashmir/India focus.Pasha is closely allied to General Kayani, the CIA, and holds anti-Taliban views. The United States Government had pressured Pakistan to replace Nadeem Taj, the prior chief of the ISI, whom they claimed as “double dealing” with militants with a more acceptable candidate like Pasha.[8][9] Additionally, Pasha’s appointment was part of a wider Chief of the Army reappointment shake-up that solidified General Kayani’s loyality among the military as all prior appointees were done by former President and Chief of the Army Pervez Musharraf.

In the wake of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Pasha prepared to go to India to share intelligence after a request from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,[10] constituting the first time the head of the ISI travelled to there to help the investigation of a terrorist attack,[11] but later on it was decided by Pakistani authorities that Instead of Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), his representative will visit India to help Indian government in the investigations of Mumbai mayhem.[12]