Lt Gen. Rizwan Akhter took charge as DG ISI

Islamabad: Lt Gen. Rizwan Akhter took over as ISI Chief on Friday, Lt Gen. Zaheer-ul-Islam retired

Lt Gen. Rizwan Akhter has taken over the charge as new director general of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) on Friday, a military official confirmed the change at ISI Headquarter.

Gen Akhtar, known to be a close associate of Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif, was named as director general of the ISI by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in September, more than a month in advance, in an attempt to avoid disagreement over the appointment at a time when civil-military relationship was passing through a critical phase. Gen Akhtar’s first regiment is Frontier Force. Before his Sindh Rangers assignment (2012-2014), he remained general officer commanding in South Waziristan from 2010 to 2012.His postings in Karachi and South Waziristan provide him a good background in counter-terrorism, which is currently the focus of the ISI.

Although, Gen Sharif picked a relatively younger general to head the premier intelligence agency (IS), he was the senior most among the batch of six two star generals promoted in September.