In the midst of increased tensions with India after the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistan has named Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General, Lieutenant General Muhammad Asim Malik as the nation’s new National Security Advisor (NSA), in an additional charge.
The NSA position had been vacant since April 2022, according to reports. Malik’s double role as ISI chief and NSA is being viewed as a major step by the Pakistani establishment to centralise control over national security and intelligence affairs.
Official Order Goes Viral Online
A formal government notification affirming Malik’s appointment as NSA was widely shared on social media on Thursday. The move comes amid stepped-up pressure on Islamabad by India on cross-border terrorism issues.
Who Is Lt Gen Asim Malik?
Lt Gen. Asim Malik became the ISI chief in September 2024, replacing Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum. A decorated military officer, Malik had earlier held the post of Adjutant General at Pakistan’s General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.
His field exposure has been as a commander of the Infantry Brigade in Waziristan and Infantry Division in Balochistan. Malik has also been Chief Instructor at the National Defence University Islamabad and instructor at the Command and Staff College, Quetta.
He is an awardee of the much-coveted Sword of Honour and has studied at the US Army’s Fort Leavenworth and Royal College of Defence Studies in London.
Malik’s elevation to the NSA position, in the midst of an uptick in India-Pakistan tensions, indicated stiffening of Islamabad’s security stance.
