ISLAMABAD. March 11. KAZINFORM. Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Giliani has extended the term of the head of the country's main intelligence agency by a year in a move expected to reinforce efforts to fight militancy; Kazinform refers to Arab News.

Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha, director general of the military's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, was due to retire March 18 but will remain in office for another year, prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's official sources told Arab News.

Pasha, a former head of military operations for Pakistan's Army, was appointed head of the ISI in September 2008, months after US officials questioned the reliability of the spy agency in the campaign against militancy.

Such questions have largely ended under his leadership, however, since security forces mounted big offensives against militants in the northwest over the past year; Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version.