Pakistan on Wednesday appointed lieutenant general Nadeem Anjum as the new director-general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Anjum will head the spy agency which was earlier headed by lieutenant general Faiz Hameed. Hameed, who held the ISI chief post since 2019, was appointed as commander of the Peshawar Corps. Recently, his visit to Kabul raised questions over Pakistan's role in the Taliban cabinet.
The ISI chief’s post is among the most influential and important posts in the Pakistan army, which is known to be calling the shots regarding the nation’s foreign and defence policies.
Anjum belongs to the Punjab regiment of the Pakistan army, also served as commander of the Karachi corps as well as the commandant of the Command and Staff College Quetta.
Anjum led several campaigns against elements which were threatening Pakistan in the Balochistan region and is considered a ‘battle-hardened soldier’. He served as the inspector general of the Frontier Corps Balochistan.
His subordinates call him a “man with glacier brain but sharp reflexes”, news agency PTI reported. Anjum is known to be a good listener who speaks concisely. According to a news report by Pakistani news media Tribune, Anjum also held command postings in the eastern border of Pakistan i.e. the Line of Control. He graduated from the Royal College of Defense Studies in the UK and also holds a degree from the Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies, Honolulu.
Outgoing Hameed’s transfer to the Peshawar Corps is being seen as a crucial move following the Taliban takeover of the Afghanistan government. Hameed, before taking on the role of the spy chief, also served ISI as its head of internal security.
{{/usCountry}}Outgoing Hameed’s transfer to the Peshawar Corps is being seen as a crucial move following the Taliban takeover of the Afghanistan government. Hameed, before taking on the role of the spy chief, also served ISI as its head of internal security.
{{/usCountry}}Hameed was also among the first to conduct an official visit to Afghanistan following its fall to the Taliban. He met the Taliban leaders ahead of them announcing the government and also assured the world that ‘everything will be alright’ in Afghanistan.