Asim Malik Age, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Asim Malik

• Asim Malik belongs to a Punjabi Awan family from Shahpur, a city in the Sargodha District of Punjab, Pakistan.

• His father, Lt. Gen. (retired) Ghulam Muhammad Malik, was in charge of the X Corps in Rawalpindi, one of the most powerful army units in Pakistan. He led the unit during the 1993 political crisis between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Ghulam Ishaq Khan.

• During Asim Malik’s studies at Fort Leavenworth in the United States, he wrote a thesis titled Mountain Warfare: The Need for Specialist Training and published in 2003.

• While at the Pakistan Military Academy, he was awarded the Sword of Honour.

• In 1989, Asim Malik was designated to the 12th Baloch Regiment. During this time, he was awarded the Sword of Honour in the 80th PMA Long Course.

• He served as Chief Instructor at the National Defence University in Islamabad and as an instructor at the Command and Staff College in Quetta.

• Asim Malik remained with the Baloch Regiment throughout his career.

• As a Major General, he commanded the 41st Infantry Division in Balochistan and also led an Infantry Brigade in Waziristan.

• Asim Malik has served in the Military Operations Directorate.

  

  Asim Malik (left) while discussing a military cooperation

• In October 2021, he was promoted to the position of Lieutenant General from Major General.

• Asim Malik was also appointed Adjutant General (AG) at General Headquarters (GHQ), Rawalpindi. This appointment was made by the then Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Qamar Javed Bajwa.

• As Adjutant General, he led the investigation into the riots that happened on 9 May 2023 after the arrest of Imran Khan.

• Reportedly, Asim Malik started and supervised the court martial of Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, a former Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), who was investigated by the military for corruption and violations of military rules after his retirement.

• On 30 September 2024, he began working as the Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (DG ISI), replacing Nadeem Anjum.

• The announcement was made by Pakistan Television Corporation. Earlier, such news was shared by the Prime Minister’s Office or Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

• Asim Malik became the first ISI chief to hold a doctorate in 2024.

• Reportedly, he did not have experience in intelligence work. His appointment came during a time of political unrest, increased militancy, and growing public focus on the ISI.

• Military sources stated that Asim Malik had a close relationship with COAS Asim Munir, who trusted him. Both Malik and Munir received the Sword of Honour during their training as cadets in the Pakistan Army.

• In May 2025, he was appointed as the National Security Adviser (NSA) in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat. The NSA position had been vacant for two years before this.

  

  An old picture of Asim Malik

• Under Prime Minister Imran Khan, the NSA post was cancelled in 2019 due to objections from Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

• The same year, Asim Malik also became the head of the National Security Committee (NSC) of Pakistan.

• This happened soon after a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir in India, in April 2025, where 26 people were killed, which increased tensions between India and Pakistan.

• Asim Malik became the first person in Pakistan’s history to hold both roles, i.e. DG ISI and NSA, at the same time.