As befits any newly installed spymaster, a vague air of mystery surrounds Lt Gen Zahir ul-Islam, the head of Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence, who is visiting Washington in his official capacity for the first time.
Beyond the bare details of his resume, US officials admit they know little of ul-Islam, a tall man in his 50s with a flop of black hair, except that he comes across as taciturn, thoughtful and passionate about sports.
Since his appointment in March, ul-Islam has maintained a conspicuously low profile in Pakistan. After being featured in a handful of newspaper articles filled with starchy compliments typically reserved for powerful generals, he largely disappeared from view - by most accounts, a deliberate strategy.
In politics, ul-Islam's predecessor, Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha, had become embroiled in a political crisis that at one point threatened to bring down President Asif Ali Zardari's government.
And the Supreme Court, headed by a strong-willed judge, has raised difficult questions about the ISI role in numerous human rights violations, including extrajudicial executions, and a multimillion-dollar election-rigging campaign that the agency ran in the early 1990s.
"There's been a lot of commotion," said Kamran Bokhari, an analyst with the research group Stratfor. "So now it makes sense for General Islam to pull back, reassess."
{{/usCountry}}"There's been a lot of commotion," said Kamran Bokhari, an analyst with the research group Stratfor. "So now it makes sense for General Islam to pull back, reassess."
{{/usCountry}}In contrast with Pasha, who was known for his sharp-tongued, sometimes impassioned private outbursts, ul-Islam is described as a low-profile operator, happy to take a back seat in meetings.
"He is cool as a cucumber," said a serving ISI officer, speaking on the condition of anonymity. But he has maintained Pasha's short rein on CIA activities in Pakistan.
In his talks in Washington, ul-Islam will press the CIA to stop its drone strike campaign in the tribal belt. Instead, he will propose that the US upgrade Pakistan's fleet of F-16 warplanes so it can do the same job. He will also request US help in halting cross-border incursions by the Pakistani Taliban from bases in Afghanistan.