Lt. Gen. (retd) Zaheerul Islam, former head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), appeared in the news on reports of apparently stepping into the political arena and joining a political party.
However, he has not yet commented on the reports.
According to media report, Saleem Safi posted a picture of the former DG ISI on his account in which he was addressing a political gathering while standing on the podium wrapped in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) flag.
Many people thought that the former general had joined politics and announced his support for the PTI, but the party’s information secretary Fawad Chaudhry dismissed the impression.
Fawad Chaudhry said that General (retd) Zaheer-ul-Islam had attended a political rally in support of the PTI candidate in the Punjab by-elections.
He is supporting Shabir Awan, a PTI candidate who is contesting from PP-7 constituency in Rawalpindi.
Fawad Chaudhry said that there was no truth in the rumors that General (retd) Zaheer-ul-Islam had joined the PTI, he was only expressing his support for the PTI candidate who is a relative of the retired general.
It should be kept in mind that General (retd) Zaheer-ul-Islam was the head of ISI from March 2012 to November 2014.
In the meantime, it has been speculated that he provided technical assistance to the PTI sit-in and was also involved in negotiations for a peaceful solution to the sit-in.