A litmus test

Lieutenant General Asim Malik's appointment as the new head of Pakistan's ISI amidst political turmoil and external tensions has triggered hopes of diversion from controversial policies

- SHANTANU MUKHARJI

The Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is always in the headlines for various reasons. Very recently, former ISI chief Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed was imprisoned on several allegations and is expected to remain in prison indefinitely. In these very columns, we had written about the controversial roles played by successive ISI chiefs, including blatant interference in the political affairs of the country. They have also been notorious for engineering cross-border terrorist activities and toppling democratically elected legitimate regimes.

Against this backdrop, the Pakistani military has recently announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Asim Malik as the new head of the country's premier intelligence agency, the Directorate of 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 the military's administrative affairs, including legal and disciplinary matters, for the past three years. Malik, a highly decorated officer who enjoys goodwill within Pakistan's close-knit military community, has not been without controversy. Notably, the ISI chief is often regarded 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 entity.