ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The chief of the Pakistani Army appointed a new head of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence, the nation's top spy organization, Tuesday in a move that consolidated his control over crucial espionage activities.
The new spy chief, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha, has experience as a commander in United Nations peacekeeping and counter-insurgency operations, according to a Pakistani expert in military affairs. He replaced Lt. Gen. Nadeem Taj.
The appointment of General Pasha was made by Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who became head of the army last November when President Pervez Musharraf stepped down from his military role. Mr. Musharraf resigned in August under threats of impeachment.
General Kayani has been deliberately making his mark on the army, and Tuesday's announcement of the new spy chief, along with the appointments of five new senior generals, was another sign of his remaking of the top echelon of the military, traditionally Pakistan's elite institution.
For the last two years, General Pasha was in charge of security operations in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan where Al Qaeda and the Taliban have gained virtual control.
American Special Forces recently crossed from Afghanistan into Waziristan in the tribal area on a raid against Al Qaeda insurgents. The operation sparked a public repudiation of Washington from General Kayani as a breach of Pakistani sovereignty.
As head of the intelligence agency, General Pasha will be dealing directly with the Central Intelligence Agency about Washington's concerns over Taliban and Al Qaeda forces staging attacks against American troops in Afghanistan.
The appointment of General Pasha comes two months after the new civilian government tried but failed to wrest control of the spy agency from the army, which has always run it.
General Kayani's announcement reaffirmed the military's institutional control of the I.S.I., the English-language newspaper Dawn said in Tuesday's edition.
