Nadeem Ahmed Anjum appointed new ISI chief

Islamabad: Taking a surprise step, the Pakistani Army has transferred its powerful ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed. He has been removed from the post of ISI chief and has now been made Peshawar Corps Commander.

After the transfer of Faiz Hameed, Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum has been made the new ISI chief. Lt Gen Faiz Hameed was given the command of Pakistani intelligence agency ISI on 16 June 2019. He had also served as the head of the internal security department in the ISI before becoming its chief.

In the official statement released by the Pakistan Army on Wednesday, two more senior level appointments were also announced. Lt Gen Mohammad Amir has been made Gujranwala Corps Commander. On the other hand, Lieutenant General Asim Munir has been made Quartermaster General.

Talking about Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, he is considered close to Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. He was made ISI at a time when Pakistan was surrounded by crisis in internal and external affairs. Under his behind-the-scenes leadership, ‘Operation Afghanistan’ was run. Due to which the Taliban surprisingly captured the whole of Afghanistan in the month of August. The rebels of the Panjshir Valley opposed this but the Pakistani army sent drones and forced them to retreat.

Faiz Hameed visited Kabul in September. During that time a picture of him holding a cup of tea in his hand went viral. Then he said that everything is fine in Afghanistan. According to sources, he had gone there to resolve the ongoing differences over government formation in the Taliban. During this, on the strength of coercion, various factions of the Taliban were persuaded to participate in power.