Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) will have a new Chief on September 30, with Lt. Gen. Muhammad Asim Malik replacing former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s appointee, Lt. Gen. Nadeem Anjum, as announced by the military’s media wing on Monday. The Inter-Services Public Relations released a statement saying the new ISI Director General (DG) has served in the Balochistan Infantry Division and commanded a brigade in Pakistan’s northwestern Waziristan tribal district, a volatile region, both known for their strategic importance in Pakistan’s internal security.
The reported move comes as the political role of the agency faces intense scrutiny. One former ISI chief has been arrested for supporting the political cause of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who, in turn, alleges that the agency, under current Chief Naveed Anjum, is being used against him.
Lt Gen Malik, currently serving as the Pakistan Army’s Adjudicate General at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and a graduate of Fort Leavenworth in the United States, and the Royal College of Defence Studies in London, according to the statement. A recipient of the Sword of Honour in his course, he had also served as the chief instructor at the National Defence University in Islamabad and taught at the Command and Staff College, Quetta.
The ISI chief’s position is considered the most powerful in Pakistan after that of the Army Chief, playing a key role in the country’s internal and external policies, the military and foreign relations. While the ISI Chief technically reports to the Prime Minister, he is controlled by Pakistan’s Army Chief. A standoff between Khan and the army over the appointment of the ISI chief in 2021 is believed to have led to a falling out with top generals, which was followed by his ouster from the premiership months later.
Malik takes over from Anjum at a time when Pakistan has been facing a surge of militant attacks in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan provinces.
Team BharatShakti (With inputs from Reuters)
