Pentagon looks forward to working with new ISI chief

The US is looking forward to working with the new head of the Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan, Pentagon said on Wednesday, noting the US-Pak relationship was critical for the region and Afghanistan. “We look forward to working with the new chief,” the Pentagon spokesman, Navy Captain John Kirby, said in interview, when asked about announcement of the new ISI chief. On March 18, Lieutenant Gen Zaheerul Islam would replace Lieutenant Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha as the new ISI chief. Under Pasha, the US relationship with the ISI had hit a new low.
“We look forward to having a good partnership with Pakistan moving forward. That’s what our focus is on. We believe it is critical for the region and for the mission in Afghanistan,” Kirby said. However, he said the US had nothing to say on the appointment and the decision. “This is the decision that the civilian leadership of the nation of Pakistan get to make. It is not for us to make the comment one way or the other their appointments to high office,” said the Pentagon spokesman.