Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan’s army has introduced the appointment of Lieutenant Normal Asim Malik as the brand new head of the nation’s premier intelligence company, the Directorate of Inter-Providers Intelligence (ISI).
Malik will assume his function on September 30.
Earlier than this appointment, he served because the adjutant common (AG) on the military’s common headquarters, overseeing army administrative affairs, together with authorized and disciplinary issues, for the previous three years.
The ISI chief is usually seen because the second-most highly effective particular person within the army after the Chief of Military Employees — in a rustic the place the army is probably the most highly effective establishment.
The outgoing ISI chief, Normal Nadeem Anjum, took workplace in November 2021 underneath then-Prime Minister Imran Khan. His tenure, prolonged by a yr in September 2022, coincided with vital political upheaval, together with Khan’s ouster by way of a parliamentary vote of no confidence in April 2022 – a transfer Khan attributed to army interference, a cost that the army has persistently rejected.
Malik, a extremely adorned officer who enjoys goodwill inside Pakistan’s close-knit army neighborhood, has not been immune from that tumult both.
Who’s Asim Malik, the brand new ISI chief?
Malik, 59, has no direct expertise in intelligence-related postings however has commanded infantry divisions in Balochistan and an infantry brigade in South Waziristan, areas which were hotbeds of violence for practically 20 years.
He has additionally served as an teacher at Pakistan’s Nationwide Defence College and the Command and Employees Faculty in Quetta.
A top-performing cadet throughout his coaching, Malik is the son of Ghulam Muhammad Malik, who was a three-star common within the Nineties and held outstanding positions throughout his profession.
Asim Malik is a graduate of the Royal Faculty of Defence Research in London and Fort Leavenworth in america, the place he wrote a thesis on mountain warfare.
Retired Lieutenant Normal Naeem Khalid Lodhi, who served with Malik’s father, describes the incoming spy chief as a quiet but extremely revered officer.
“Even because the AG, he did substantial work for the welfare of retired troopers, notably regarding pensions and different associated points,” Lodhi informed Al Jazeera. He stated Malik is credited with resolving considerations over delays in pensions and the medical remedy of veterans throughout his time as AG.
Nevertheless, Malik’s tenure as AG additionally coincided with a crackdown on former PM Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) social gathering, resulting in the arrest of quite a few social gathering supporters and leaders.
After Khan was detained briefly on Might 9 final yr, many PTI supporters went on a rampage and broken public property and army installations. 1000’s had been arrested, and nearly 100 people confronted army trials underneath the supervision of the AG.
Final yr, the military additionally introduced jail sentences for 2 retired officers – a serious and a captain – on fees of “inciting sedition” after court-martial proceedings. In August, former ISI chief Normal Faiz Hameed, together with three other former army officers, was additionally arrested for court-martial proceedings.
A former colleague of Malik, a retired common, says his appointment displays the belief positioned in him by Normal Asim Munir, the present military chief.
“In regular circumstances, along with his profession trajectory, Malik would have been given command of a corps. However with lower than 20 months till his retirement, that’s unlikely. His appointment to the ISI underscores the robust confidence Munir has in him,” the previous common stated, requesting anonymity on account of his familiarity with Malik.
Nevertheless, he additionally acknowledged that the roles of AG and ISI chief include inherent controversies and that, in some ways, Malik should now in his new job be prepared to do the soiled methods his present function would have wanted him to drown upon.
“AG’s job is to make sure full self-discipline within the establishment and to take to activity those that fail to uphold it. Whereas within the ISI, the job requires one to undertake unsavoury duties that are controversial by nature,” he added. “Each these positions contradict one another.”
The legacy of the outgoing ISI chief
Based in 1948, the ISI is Pakistan’s equal of the CIA within the US, the British MI6 or India’s Analysis and Evaluation Wing (RAW). Whereas the company formally reviews to the prime minister, the military chief recommends the appointment of its head.
Nevertheless, the intelligence company can be extremely controversial, with its critics describing it as a “state inside a state”.
The Pakistani army itself stays the only strongest establishment within the nation, which wields appreciable affect on the nation’s political and international coverage sphere, with the ISI typically taking part in the function of enforcer.
Anjum’s appointment as ISI chief in November 2021 was contentious, inflicting a rift between then-army chief Normal Qamar Javed Bajwa and then-Prime Minister Khan.
On the time, Normal Hameed, now dealing with a courtroom martial, was the ISI chief, and Khan insisted he ought to proceed within the function. Khan’s critics say Hameed was seen as Khan’s enforcer towards his political rivals — a cost the previous PM has repeatedly denied.
Nevertheless, critics allege that underneath Anjum, the ISI continued to behave in a way that might be considered by some as politically partisan, by way of its function within the crackdown towards Khan’s political social gathering, PTI.
“I personally really feel that Hameed was the unsuitable alternative to guide ISI, however was introduced by Bajwa, then military chief, to do his bidding,” stated the previous common who was additionally Malik’s colleague. “Nevertheless, Anjum’s period noticed a doubling down on these insurance policies of repression and surpassed these.”
The army and the ISI have persistently denied performing towards Khan and his social gathering due to political causes, arguing that the crackdown towards the PTI has been pushed by authorized issues alone.
What lies forward for the ISI underneath Malik?
Lodhi stated he doubts whether or not Malik’s appointment might portend main adjustments within the ISI’s functioning.
“The way in which establishments work, these appointments don’t change path or insurance policies in a drastic method,” he stated.
The previous three-star common, additionally a former battle faculty teacher, echoed this sentiment. “Each new chief brings some change. Malik is called a ‘gentleman officer’ – respectable and well-regarded. However whether or not he can considerably enhance the establishment’s legacy stays to be seen.”