Pakistan army replaces ISI chief in a surprise move: What you need to know

New ISI chief Lt General Nadeem Ahmed Anjum / Picture courtesy Times of India

In a surprise move, the Pakistan army on Wednesday transferred the powerful spy agency ISI's chief Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed and appointed him as Peshawar Corps Commander. Lieutenant General Nadeem Ahmed Anjum has been appointed as the new chief of Pakistan's powerful spy agency ISI.

Hameed was appointed as head of the spy agency on June 16, 2019, in a military shake-up. He had previously served in the ISI as the head of internal security.

He is considered close to Army chief General Qamar Bajwa and was appointed as ISI head at a crucial time due to several external and internal security challenges.

He oversaw the crucial changes in Afghanistan where the Taliban took control in August.

During his visit to Kabul, he told the media in a brief chat that "everything will be ok" in Afghanistan when there were rumours about differences among Taliban ranks due to delays in the announcement of the government.

According to Dawn, Lt Gen Anjum was previously the commander of Karachi Corps. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in September 2019.

The Pakistani army, in an official statement, also announced two more senior-level postings.

Lt Gen Mohammad Amir was posted as Gujranwala corps commander, while Lt Gen Asim Munir was appointed as the Quarter Master General (QMG) of the Army, the statement said.