Islam named intelligence agency chief

Islamabad Pakistan appointed Lt General Zaheer- ul Islam as the new director-general of the country's powerful spy agency Friday.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's office statement said: "The prime minister has appointed Lt General Zaheer-ul Islam as the new DG ISI", referring to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Islam is the commander of the V Corps, based in Karachi. He takes over from Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, who was appointed in 2008, and who oversaw some of the stormiest times in the US-Pakistan relationship.

Meanwhile, US drones killed 13 people in two missile strikes yesterday in South Waziristan on the border with Afghanistan, local television channels reported. Also yesterday, Taliban reportedly ambushed a Pakistani military convoy in North Waziristan, killing seven soldiers.