Who is Pakistan’s new spy chief Asim Malik?

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan’s military has announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Asim Malik as the new head of the country’s premier intelligence agency, the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Malik will assume his role on September 30.

Before this appointment, he served as the adjutant general (AG) at the army’s general headquarters, overseeing military administrative affairs, including legal and disciplinary matters, for the past three years.

The ISI chief is often seen as the second-most powerful person in the military after the Chief of Army Staff — in a country where the military is the most powerful institution.

The outgoing ISI chief, General Nadeem Anjum, took office in November 2021 under then-Prime Minister Imran Khan. His tenure, extended by a year in September 2022, coincided with significant political upheaval, including Khan’s ouster through a parliamentary vote of no confidence in April 2022 – a move Khan attributed to military interference, a charge that the military has consistently rejected.

Malik, a highly decorated officer who enjoys goodwill within Pakistan’s close-knit military community, has not been immune from that tumult either.

Who is Asim Malik, the new ISI chief?

Malik, 59, has no direct experience in intelligence-related postings but has commanded infantry divisions in Balochistan and an infantry brigade in South Waziristan, areas that have been hotbeds of violence for nearly two decades.

He has also served as an instructor at Pakistan’s National Defence University and the Command and Staff College in Quetta.

A top-performing cadet during his training, Malik is the son of Ghulam Muhammad Malik, who was a three-star general in the 1990s and held prominent positions during his career.

Asim Malik is a graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies in London and Fort Leavenworth in the United States, where he wrote a thesis on mountain warfare.

Retired Lieutenant General Naeem Khalid Lodhi, who served with Malik’s father, describes the incoming spy chief as a quiet yet highly respected officer.

“Even as the AG, he did substantial work for the welfare of retired soldiers, particularly concerning pensions and other related issues,” Lodhi told Al Jazeera. He said Malik is credited with resolving concerns over delays in pensions and the medical treatment of veterans during his time as AG.

However, Malik’s tenure as AG also coincided with a crackdown on former PM Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, leading to the arrest of numerous party supporters and leaders.

After Khan was detained briefly on May 9 last year, many PTI supporters went on a rampage and damaged public property and military installations. Thousands were arrested, and just about 100 individuals faced military trials under the supervision of the AG.

Last year, the army also announced prison sentences for two retired officers – a major and a captain – on charges of “inciting sedition” after court-martial proceedings. In August, former ISI chief General Faiz Hameed, along with three other former military officials, was also arrested for court-martial proceedings.

A former colleague of Malik, a retired general, says his appointment reflects the trust placed in him by General Asim Munir, the current army chief.

“In normal circumstances, with his career trajectory, Malik would have been given command of a corps. But with less than 20 months until his retirement, that’s unlikely. His appointment to the ISI underscores the strong confidence Munir has in him,” the former general said, requesting anonymity due to his familiarity with Malik.

However, he also acknowledged that the roles of AG and ISI chief come with inherent controversies and that, in many ways, Malik must now in his new job be willing to do the dirty tricks his current role would have needed him to drown upon.

“AG’s job is to ensure complete discipline in the institution and to take to task those who fail to uphold it. Whereas in the ISI, the job requires one to undertake unsavoury tasks which are controversial by nature,” he added. “Both these positions contradict each other.”

The legacy of the outgoing ISI chief

Founded in 1948, the ISI is Pakistan’s equivalent of the CIA in the US, the British MI6 or India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). While the agency officially reports to the prime minister, the army chief recommends the appointment of its head.

However, the intelligence agency is also highly controversial, with its critics describing it as a “state within a state”.

The Pakistani military itself remains the single most powerful institution in the country, which wields considerable influence on the country’s political and foreign policy sphere, with the ISI often playing the role of enforcer.

Anjum’s appointment as ISI chief in November 2021 was contentious, causing a rift between then-army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and then-Prime Minister Khan.

At the time, General Hameed, now facing a court martial, was the ISI chief, and Khan insisted he should continue in the role. Khan’s critics say Hameed was seen as Khan’s enforcer against his political rivals — a charge the former PM has repeatedly denied.

However, critics allege that under Anjum, the ISI continued to act in a manner that could be viewed by some as politically partisan, through its role in the crackdown against Khan’s political party, PTI.

“I personally feel that Hameed was the wrong choice to lead ISI, but was brought by Bajwa, then army chief, to do his bidding,” said the former general who was also Malik’s colleague. “However, Anjum’s era saw a doubling down on those policies of repression and surpassed those.”

The military and the ISI have consistently denied acting against Khan and his party because of political reasons, arguing that the crackdown against the PTI has been driven by legal considerations alone.

What lies ahead for the ISI under Malik?

Lodhi said he doubts whether Malik’s appointment could portend major changes in the ISI’s functioning.

“The way institutions work, these appointments don’t change direction or policies in a drastic manner,” he said.

The former three-star general, also a former war college instructor, echoed this sentiment. “Every new leader brings some change. Malik is known as a ‘gentleman officer’ – decent and well-regarded. But whether he can significantly improve the institution’s legacy remains to be seen.”