Zaheer-ul-Islam
Pakistan Army general
Raja Zaheer-ul-Islam HI (M), (Urdu: راجہ ظہیر الاسلام) is a retired lieutenant-general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 25th Director General of the ISI.
He was appointed to the position on 9 March 2012 and began working a day after his predecessor Ahmed Shuja Pasha left on 18 March 2012.
At the time of his appointment, he was serving as the Corps Commander V Corps, headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan. In 2012, Forbes named him as the world's 52nd most powerful person.
Early and personal life
He was born into a Janjua Rajput family in Rawalpindi. His father retired as a brigadier in the Pakistan Army, while his three brothers and his brother-in-law Major Ejaz Aziz also retired as military officers.
His uncle was Shah Nawaz Khan, a major general in the Indian National Army of Subhas Chandra Bose.
In 2012, it was alleged that Islam is related to Indian film actor Shah Rukh Khan. The Pakistan Army denied the allegations and said since Lateef Fatima, the mother of Khan, is the adopted daughter of Shah Nawaz Khan, Lateef and her son have no blood relation to Zaheer-ul-Islam. However, in an interview, Shah Rukh Khan clarified that it was his father who was a cousin of Shah Nawaz Khan.
Military career
Zaheerul Islam was commissioned in the Punjab Regiment in the 55th PMA Long Course on 16 April 1977.
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