Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar has confirmed that the tenure of Pakistan's spy chief has been extended, explaining that Pakistan is currently experiencing a surge of terrorism and there was a need to ensure a continuity of policy.
of Pakistan's major intelligence agency, the , has been extended to ensure continuity of policy at a time when the nation is facing increased terrorist assaults.
This is the first time an official confirmation for the extension has come from the highest of quarters in government. Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum was set to retire later this month but will now serve for at least another year.
The army has not yet publicly confirmed Lt. Gen. Anjum's extension, although speculation regarding the extension had been doing the rounds in the media for weeks.
While giving an interview to Arab News, the prime minister said, "Try to grasp the point about policy continuity. Any system prefers and supports the concept of continuity."
#WATCH: In first public comments on extension of DG ISI Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar tells Arab News:
— Arab News Pakistan (@arabnewspk) November 10, 2023
“Try to understand the point on continuity [of policy], any system prefers and supports the idea of continuity."
-https://t.co/7ZO8YgbUU7 pic.twitter.com/fRGryJhSMp
He said, “You want to have a continuation of the process, and for you, the continuation of that process is important so that idea, practice, or brand gets entrenched."
“So, in that context, at times in many institutions, you do feel, or the political dispensation feels, that some individual has to continue for any security benefit or otherwise, and they [the state] have got the discretion to do that [grant extension]. There’s nothing unusual or abnormal about it,” the PM added.
Lt. Gen. Nadeem Anjum was appointed DG ISI on November 20, 2022, and he was due to retire in October.
Curiously, one of the major issues that apparently caused the one-page mantra between former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and the powerful military to break was the former's insistence to retain former ISI chief Lt Gen (retired) Faiz Hameed beyond his tenure.