The former head of Pakistan's notorious spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is dead.
Pakistani media reported on August 15 that Hamid Gul died due to a brain hemorrhage.
The 77-year-old retired general was taken to a hospital outside of Islamabad but doctors could not revive him.
Gul is known as the "godfather" of Pakistan’s strategy of using militant proxies to exert influence in neighboring countries, including in India and Afghanistan.
Gul, who was ISI chief from 1987-89, played a key part in the creation of the Taliban in the early 1990s.
He remained a controversial figure even in retirement, with the United States accusing him of having ties to militant groups in Pakistan.
Gul, who was staunchly anti-American, denied the allegations.
