On October 26, the Pakistan Prime Minister's Office has informed about the appointment of Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum as the new chief of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Nadeem Anjum is said to be close to Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa, but he is not Imran Khan's choice.
There was a tussle between the army and the government in Pakistan for 20 days over the appointment of the ISI chief, and finally the PM Office has put its stamp on the officer selected by the army. The Army had announced on October 6 that Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum would head the intelligence agency ISI. But till now the PM Office had not released the official information regarding the appointment. There were reports of tension between the Imran government and the army regarding this.
After the matter heated up, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary appeared in front of the media on 12 October. He has said that the PM has the right to appoint the ISI chief and for this the prescribed procedure will be followed. He had said that the legal process will be followed in the appointment of the new chief, to which both General Bajwa and PM Imran Khan have agreed. On 19 October, Fawad Chaudhry again appeared before the media and said that all the issues regarding the appointment of the ISI chief have been resolved and the appointment of the new chief will be announced soon.
Who is Nadeem Ahmed Anjum?
Lt Gen Anjum was earlier the Commander of the Karachi Corps. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in September 2019. Hailing from the 78th Long Course of the Pakistan Military Academy and the Punjab Regiment, Lt Gen Anjum has served as the Commandant of the Command and Staff College, Quetta.
