From ISI chief to Pakistan’s new NSA: Who is Lt General Muhammad Asim Malik?

Pakistan has a new National Security Adviser (NSA). Lieutenant General Muhammad Asim Malik, the head of the country’s spy agency, will serve as the NSA.

This is the first time that a serving chief of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has been appointed as the NSA simultaneously. “Lt Gen Muhammad Asim Malik HI(M), DG (I), shall hold the additional charge of the National Security Adviser, with immediate effect,” Pakistani daily Dawn quoted the notification issued by Cabinet Division on Tuesday (April 29) as saying.

Malik is succeeding Moeed Yusuf, who was the NSA in 2022.

His dual role comes amid increased tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.

Let’s take a closer look.

Who is Asim Malik?

Asim Malik has experience commanding infantry divisions in Balochistan and an infantry brigade in South Waziristan, two areas that have seen violence for nearly two decades.

The son of Ghulam Muhammad Malik, a three-star general in the 1990s who was known as ‘General GM’, the ISI chief earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Balochistan.

Malik is a graduate from two top defence colleges — the Royal College of Defence Studies in London and Fort Leavenworth in the United States, where he authored a thesis on mountain warfare. Criticising the traditional military methods, Malik wrote, “Senior leaders consider themselves well-equipped for planning and conducting operations in any kind of environment. This is unfortunately not always true.”

After returning to Pakistan, he took training at the Pakistan Military Academy. Malik went on to receive the ‘Sword of Honour’ for achieving the best performance there.

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According to The Hindu report, he trained cadets at the Command and Staff College, Quetta. Malik was the chief instructor at the National Defence University (NDU) in Islamabad. He earned his doctorate in US-Pakistan relations from the varsity.

In October 2021, Malik was elevated to the rank of Lieutenant General and appointed as the Pakistan Army’s adjutant general (AG). He was in charge of military administrative affairs, including legal and disciplinary matters, reported Al Jazeera.

Malik’s tenure as AG coincided with the crackdown on former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

Malik became the head of Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency – the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) – in September 2024. The first PhD to hold the post, he succeeded Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum.

The ISI chief is the second-most powerful person in Pakistan’s military after the Chief of Army Staff.

Trusted by Pakistan Army chief

ISI chief Malik will now be Pakistan’s NSA. The position had been vacant since April 2022, when Imran Khan’s PTI government lost a vote of confidence and collapsed, as per a Dawn report.

As NSA, Malik will be heading the National Security Division, based at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat in Islamabad.

Asim Malik is a quiet yet highly respected officer, Retired Lieutenant General Naeem Khalid Lodhi, who served with Malik’s father, told Al Jazeera in October 2024.

“Even as the AG, he did substantial work for the welfare of retired soldiers, particularly concerning pensions and other related issues,” Lodhi said.

According to a former colleague of Malik, his appointment as the ISI chief last year reflected the confidence the Pakistan Army chief, General Asim Munir, has in him. “In normal circumstances, with his career trajectory, Malik would have been given command of a corps. But with less than 20 months until his retirement, that’s unlikely. His appointment to the ISI underscores the strong confidence Munir has in him,” the former general told Al Jazeera at the time.

Tensions between India-Pak

Asim Malik’s appointment as Pakistan’s NSA comes amid heightened tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad after the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, mostly of tourists, in Kashmir.

After India announced punitive measures against Pakistan in the wake of the tragedy, Pakistan also took tit-for-tat steps. Pakistani troops have continued unprovoked firing on the Indian side along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir for the past seven nights.

Pakistan’s ministers have been raising the spectre of military escalation, saying an incursion by India is “imminent”.

It is at this critical juncture that Malik assumes the post of NSA, who is the chief adviser to the Prime Minister on matters of national security, foreign policy, and strategic affairs.

With inputs from agencies