On 7 October 2001, Lt-Gen. Ehsan was surprisingly appointed as the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (DG ISI) as part of a major reshuffle that took place when President Pervez Musharraf went to dismissed his key army generals involved in the military takeover in 1999. His appointment was in response of removal of the ISI director, Mahmud Ahmed, after the terrorist attacks took place in the United States in September 2001 which was followed by the American invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001.