ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), chief Lt-Gen Asim Malik was due to retire this month, but military sources have confirmed to the BBC Urdu that he will continue in his current role.
According to military sources, “Lt-Gen Asim Malik will continue to serve in his current roles as the ISI chief and the National Security Adviser.”
Lt Gen Malik also holds the position of National Security Adviser in addition to heading the ISI.
However, the government or the military has yet to officially confirm or deny whether his tenure has been extended.
Lt-Gen Malik assumed charge as ISI Director-General on September 30 last year, succeeding Lt-Gen (retd) Nadeem Anjum, who had also been granted an extension by then caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar.
Who is Lt-Gen Asim Malik?
Lt-Gen Malik belongs to a military family as his father, Lt-Gen (retd) Ghulam Muhammad Malik, served as Corps Commander Rawalpindi in the early 1990s — the same period when a failed coup attempt was made against former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, leading to the court-martial of several officers including Maj-Gen Zaheerul Islam Abbasi and Brig Mustansar Billah.
Commissioned into the Baloch Regiment, Lt-Gen Malik graduated from the Pakistan Military Academy with the Sword of Honour. He also attended the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth and the Royal College of Defence Studies in the UK — the same institution attended by former army chiefs Pervez Musharraf, Ashfaq Kayani and Raheel Sharif.
Known for his expertise in Balochistan affairs, he has commanded the 41st Infantry Division in Dalbandin and an infantry brigade in Waziristan.
He also served as Chief Instructor at the National Defence University’s War Wing and as an instructor at the Command and Staff College, Quetta.
Before his appointment as ISI chief, Lt-Gen Malik served as Adjutant General — the army branch responsible for discipline and welfare. The Judge Advocate General (JAG) branch, working under the Adjutant General, handled inquiries into recent disciplinary violations, including the court-martial of former DG ISI Lt-Gen (Retd) Faiz Hameed.
Speaking to BBC, a retired military officer said, “It’s not necessary that the Adjutant General personally oversees all such matters. Often, the army’s top leadership deals directly with the JAG branch.”
Another serving officer told the BBC Urdu that Lt-Gen Malik is known as a principled and disciplined officer but also a compassionate one, particularly toward retired personnel and families of martyrs.
He reportedly showed leniency in cases involving human error rather than disciplinary breaches and provided relief where warranted.
Lt-Gen Malik also played a key role in planning and overseeing the Green Initiative — an agricultural reform programme launched under the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) — to attract foreign investment in Pakistan’s agriculture sector. A senior military official said, “Lt-Gen Malik’s role in planning and implementing the Green Initiative and other SIFC projects has been central. He supervised early phases of strategic farming projects under the council.