Zaheer-ul-Islam became politically active in June 2022 when he publicly showed support for the
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Previously, in 2020, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan
Nawaz Sharif accused Zaheer-ul-Islam of seeking his resignation during the
2014 Azadi march. Zaheer-ul-Islam denied the allegations. In 2015, there were allegations that
Ahmad Shuja Pasha, his predecessor at ISI and Zaheer-ul-Islam were conspiring to create a rift between Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General
Raheel Sharif. But the actual events that followed in Pakistan in 2015, did not show that they had succeeded in their alleged efforts. A major newspaper of Pakistan reportedly stated: "Quite like most of his career in the intelligence, he has refused to come out of the shadows to clarify his position". ==References==