Lt Gen Muhammad Asim Malik has been appointed as the new director general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and will take charge on September 30, 2024.
State broadcaster PTV News announced on its official X account.
A screengrab taken at 2:25 PM on September 23, 2024, shows PTV News’s post confirming the appointment.
Currently, Gen Malik is serving as the adjutant general at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
In October 2021, Asim Malik was promoted from major to lieutenant general and appointed the army’s adjutant general.
PTV News reported that Gen Malik has served in the Balochistan infantry division and commanded an infantry brigade in Waziristan throughout his career.
The report also mentioned that he received the prestigious Sword of Honour during his military training.
Additionally, Gen Malik has worked as the chief instructor at the National Defence University in Islamabad and as an instructor at the Command and Staff College in Quetta.
He holds degrees from Fort Leavenworth in the United States and the Royal College of Defence Studies in London.
Gen Malik will succeed Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, appointed DG ISI in 2021 by then-prime minister Imran Khan.
Lt Gen Anjum, commissioned in September 1988, previously led Corps V in Karachi, commanded a brigade in Kurram Agency, prompted the Frontier Corps (North) in Balochistan, and served as the commandant of the Command and Staff College Quetta before becoming the Karachi corps commander in December 2020.
His appointment followed a three-week delay, which raised concerns about a standoff between the military and the government over the decision.
On October 6, 2021, the army announced that Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, the former ISI chief, would become the Peshawar corps commander, and Lt Gen Anjum would replace him. However, the Prime Minister’s Office had not officially confirmed Anjum’s appointment, leading to speculation about tensions in civil-military relations.
Defense experts note that the Constitution or the Army Act does not provide a formal procedure for appointing the DG ISI. Traditionally, the army chief proposes three names to the prime minister, who makes the final decision.
