Nadeem Anjum

Appointment

the beginning of October 2021 the Prime Minister's Office formally received three names from the COAS for the appointment of a new Director-General of the ISI, including Lt. Gen. Nadeem Anjum, Lt. Gen. Farhan Ali and Lt. Gen. Saqib Malik.^[15][16][17] Lieutenant General Nadeem Ahmed Anjum was appointed DG ISI on 20 November 2021. ^[18]

Press conference of October 2022

This marked the first time that the head of the ISI gave a live briefing or even addressed the media.^[19]

The pair addressed and tried to answer multiple issues that were taking place at the time, especially regarding Lettergate, Arshad Sharif's death, the failed assassination attempt on former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the military's support of Shahbaz Sharif amidst the alleged involvement of General Bajwa towards Imran Khan's ouster, and Khan's Azadi March 2022.^[20]

Regarding the Lettergate affair, Anjum asserted that during the National Security Committee of Pakistan's meeting on the cypher, Anjum "categorically clarified" that there was "no evidence found" regarding a foreign conspiracy to oust the PTI-led government. However, in National Security Council meeting, cypher was found to be real as presented in the NSC meeting and a strong demarche was issued.^[21] Therefore, in the National Security Committee meeting on the cypher, both civil and military leadership jointly agreed that the cypher represented a "blatant interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan",^[22] and issued a demarche to the Acting US envoy in Islamabad in response.^[23]

Extension

In September 2023, Anjum's tenure as ISI chief was extended for one year.^[24][25]

On 23 September 2024, it was reported that Anjum will retire from army service on 30 September 2024.^[3]

Appointment

His appointment as Director-General of the ISI attracted controversy, due to the civilian government not being consulted, despite the appointment needing its approval. A deadlock ensued between the civil government and the military, leading to the civil government taking three weeks to approve Anjum’s appointment as Director-General.^[26]

Murder of Arshad Sharif

The mother of Arshad Sharif accused senior Pakistani intelligence officers of involvement in the murder, including the then-Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the head of the ISI, General Nadeem Anjum, for the "targeted, premeditated, planned and calculated murder" of her son.^[27][28]

Following the assassination of Sharif, the Ministry of Interior removed ISI representatives from the team that traveled to Kenya to investigate Sharif's killing.^[29]

Vote of no confidence against Imran Khan

Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman alleged that Anjum influenced the vote of no confidence against Imran Khan.^[30][31] He articulated that Anjum was serving as the head of ISI while Qamar Javed Bajwa was the Chief of the Army Staff during the time of the no-confidence vote.^[32]