Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence

Last updated
Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence
Incumbent
Asim Malik
since 30 September 2024
Inter-Services Intelligence
AbbreviationDG ISI
Member of National Security Council
Residence Chaklala, Rawalpindi
Appointer Prime Minister
Term length 3 years
Inaugural holder Walter Cawthorn
Formation1948

The Director-General(DG) is head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's premier intelligence service, operationally responsible for providing critical national security and intelligence assessment to the government of Pakistan. Walter Cawthorn had conceived the idea of ISI. Afterwards, Brigadier Syed Shahid Hamid took over and was later promoted to a two-star rank of a major general and became the second director-general of the ISI. [1] [2]

The current DG of ISI is Lt. General Asim Malik since 30 September 2024. [3]

List of directors

#PortraitNameStart of termEnd of term
1 General Walter Cawthorn.jpg Major General

Walter Cawthorn [1]

January 1948June 1948
2 Brigadier

Syed Shahid Hamid
HJ

14 July 1948 [4] [5] 22 August 1950
3 Brigadier

Mirza Hamid Hussain [4]

23 August 1950 [6] May 1951
4 Colonel

Muhammad Afzal Malik [4]

May 1951April 1953
5 Brigadier

Syed Ghawas [4]

April 1953August 1955
6 Brigadier [4]

Malik Sher Bahadur

August 1955September 1957
7 Brigadier [4]

Muhammad Hayat

September 1957October 1959
8 Brigadier

Riaz Hussain [4]

October 1959May 1966
9 Major General

Muhammad Akbar Khan [7]

May 1966September 1971
10 Major General

Ghulam Jilani Khan

September 1971 [8] 16 September 1978 [9]
11 Lieutenant General

Muhammad Riaz Khan

17 September 197820 June 1979
12 Lieutenant General

Akhtar Abdur Rahman
NI(M) HI(M)

21 June 197929 March 1987
13 Lieutenant General

Hamid Gul
HI(M) SBt

29 March 198729 May 1989
14 Shamsur Rahman Kallue in 1971.jpg Lieutenant General

Shamsur Rahman Kallu
HI(M) TBt

30 May 1989August 1990
15 Lieutenant General

Asad Durrani
HI(M)

August 199013 March 1992
16 Lieutenant General

Javed Nasir
HI(M) SBt

14 March 199213 May 1993
17 Gen Javed Ashraf Qazi (2012).jpg Lieutenant General

Javed Ashraf Qazi
HI(M) SBt

14 May 1993October 1995
18 Lieutenant General

Naseem Rana

October 1995October 1998 [9]
19 Lieutenant General

Ziauddin Butt
HI(M)

October 199812 October 1999
20 Lieutenant General

Mahmud Ahmed
HI(M)

20 October 19997 October 2001
21 Ehsan ul haq.jpg Lieutenant General

Ehsan ul Haq
HI(M)

7 October 20015 October 2004
22 Kayani in July 2010.jpg Lieutenant General

Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
HI(M) SI(M) TI(M)

5 October 20048 October 2007
23 Lieutenant General

Nadeem Taj
HI(M) TBt

9 October 200729 September 2008
24 Ahmed Shuja Pasha.png Lieutenant General

Ahmad Shuja Pasha
HI(M)

1 October 200818 March 2012
25 Lieutenant General

Zaheerul Islam
HI(M)

19 March 20127 November 2014
26 Lieutenant General

Rizwan Akhtar

7 November 201411 December 2016
27 Lieutenant General

Naveed Mukhtar

11 December 201625 October 2018
28 Pakistan Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir at the State Department in Washington, D.C. on 14 December 2023 - (cropped).jpg Lieutenant General

Asim Munir
HI(M)

25 October 201816 June 2019
29 Lieutenant General

Faiz Hameed
HI(M)

17 June 201919 Nov 2021
30 Nadeem Anjum (cropped).jpg Lieutenant General

Nadeem Anjum

20 November 202129 September 2024
31 Lieutenant General

Asim Malik

30 September 2024 [3] Incumbent

References

  1. 1 2 Faith, Unity, Discipline. Oxford University Press. 2016. ISBN   978-1-84904-863-7.
  2. "Average tenure of 22 ISI chiefs in 70 years has been 3.18 years". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  3. 1 2 "Lt Gen Asim Malik appointed new DG ISI: state media". 23 September 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kiessling, Dr. Hein (2016). Faith, Unity, Discipline: The Inter-Service-Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-1-84904-863-7.
  5. "Appointments : Officers". 13 July 1948.
  6. "Joint Service Commanders' Committee: Inter Services Intelligence Directorate". 25 August 1950.
  7. "General Mohammed Akbar Khan (and some others)". 25 October 2016.
  8. Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate. Routledge. 2016. p. 85. ISBN   978-1-317-19609-9.
  9. 1 2 "Lt. Gen Zaheer is 18th DG ISI since 1959". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 2021-04-04.