Lt-Gen Zahirul Islam

Infantry, Punjab Regiment

Director-General, Inter-Services Intelligence (as three-star/ It General)

Commanded the Karachi V Corps (as three-star/Lt General)
Director-General of the "Internal" wing of Inter-Services Intelligence, dealing with domestic and counter-intelligence issues, which includes keeping a close watch on friends and foes in the Diplomatic Enclave
General Officer Commanding, Murree, dealing with kinetic operations on the LoC (as two-Star/Maj General)

Commanded the 'politically sensitive' corps in Karachi dealing with political violence/sectarian killings/Taliban hideouts. Also, the attack on PNS Mehran - the worst of its type on any military installation in Pakistan - occurred down the street from his Shahra-e-Faisal office.
His former remit, the V Corps, is also the most expan-sive formation in the Pakistan Army, and is crucially India-centric. Combined with his COC stint at Murree, Islam's latter operational years seem to have been more eastern-focused.
Besides Rashad, he is the only man in the formation of contenders to have had espionage experience prior to wearing three-stars
Zahir hails from a prominent military family of Janjuas who've worn lots of brass, and is considered as one of Cen Kayani's 'best friends' afterhours.
Has changed the culture of the ISI to the 'less is more' school; while his predecessor, Lt-Cen Ahmad Shuja Pasha, was famous for rancorous public interactions, this US Army War College graduate has little to say, share or show on Aabpara's behalf, though he was recently heard discussing the possibility of a thaw with New Delhi at an Islamabad wed-ding with a politicised quip: "Every Indian has a BalThakeray in him."