Egypt dissolves notorious internal security agency
The State Security Investigation Service (SSIS) will be replaced with a new "National Security Force".
The new agency would be tasked with "protecting the domestic front and combating terrorism", Mr Issawi said.
The actions of the SSIS helped ignite the popular uprising that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak last month.
Its agents were accused of using violence to try to stop the protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square. At least 365 people died in the 18 days of unrest.
Earlier this month, protesters raided the agency's main headquarters and offices in several cities, including Cairo and Alexandria, after reports that documents were being destroyed. They found piles of shredded paper.
The head of the SSIS has been arrested and is facing investigation for ordering the killing of anti-government demonstrators. Another 47 of its personnel have been detained on suspicion of destroying evidence.
The SSIS, which had at least 100,000 employees, was notorious for using any means to maintain Mr Mubarak's grip on power over three decades.
Human rights groups have documented hundreds of cases of torture and abuse by SSIS agents, as well as arbitrary arrests and detentions. Their torture methods included suspending victims by the wrists and ankles; beatings with metal rods; using electric shocks; and sexual assault, including sodomy.
Egypt's new Prime Minister, Issam Sharaf, vowed to reform the SSIS when he addressed thousands of people in Tahrir Square.
See www.bbc.co.uk