ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government has appointed the chief of its premium intelligence agency, Lt. Gen. Asim Malik, as the National Security Adviser, an official notification said this week amid fears of a military conflict breaking out between Pakistan and India.
Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors surged after India blamed Pakistan for being involved in the Apr. 22 militant attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. India suspended a decades-old water-sharing treaty with Pakistan, suspended visas for its nationals and took a raft of other measures after blaming Islamabad for “cross-border terrorism.” Pakistan denied involvement, took tit-for-tat measures and warned India of a “strong” response if it carried out a military strike.
Malik was picked to head the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI), the country’s premium intelligence agency, in September last year. The ISI is believed to have a hidden role in making many of the nuclear-armed nation’s policies, including those related to Afghanistan and India. The threat to Pakistan from neighboring India has been a main preoccupation of the ISI through the decades.
“Lt. Gen. Muhammad Asim Malik DG (I), shall hold the additional charge of the National Security Adviser, with immediate effect,” a notification by the Cabinet Division issued on Apr. 29, read.
The army is arguably the most influential institution in Pakistan, with the military having ruled the country for about half of its 77-year history since independence from Britain and enjoying extensive powers even under civilian administrations.
Fears of a military confrontation between India and Pakistan were renewed on Wednesday after the latter’s state television reported that Pakistan’s army had destroyed several Indian posts after they resorted to “unprovoked” firing in the Kayani and Mandal sectors of the Line of Control (LoC).
The LoC runs 742km (460 miles) dividing the parts of Kashmir governed by India and Pakistan, and acts as part of the de facto border between the two countries. India and Pakistan both claim the disputed Himalayan Kashmir territory in full but administer only parts of it.
Earlier on Wednesday, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported that a “timely” response by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had “forced” four Indian Rafale jets to retreat after payrolling near the two nations’ de facto border.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday to de-escalate Islamabad’s tensions with New Delhi and avoid a military confrontation with India. Several countries such as China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkiye and the UK have done the same recently.
Pakistan appoints intelligence chief as National Security Adviser amid tensions with India
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Pakistan appoints intelligence chief as National Security Adviser amid tensions with India
- Lt. Gen. Asim Malik was picked to head Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Agency in September last year
- ISI is believed to have a hidden role in making many of country’s policies, especially those related to India
Magnitude 5.6 earthquake jolts parts of Pakistan, no losses reported
- Tremors were felt in Swat, Peshawar and Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as in the federal capital Islamabad
- Pakistan Meteorological Department measures quake’s depth at 114 km, identifies Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan as epicenter
ISLAMABAD: A 5.6-magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Pakistan on Wednesday evening, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said with no loss of lives or massive damage to property reported.
The tremors were felt in the federal capital, Islamabad, as well as the northwestern cities of Swat, Peshawar and Chitral in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the PMD said.
“An earthquake recorded on 25-02-2026 at 16:12 PST with a 5.6-magnitude and a depth of 114km,” the PMD said in a statement. “Its epicenter was the Hindu Kush Region Afghanistan.”
Earthquakes are common in Afghanistan, particularly along the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet.
In August last year, a shallow 6-magnitude earthquake in eastern Afghanistan flattened mountainside villages and killed more than 2,200 people. Weeks later, a 6.3-magnitude quake in northern Afghanistan killed at least 27.
Powerful tremors struck western Herat in Afghanistan, near the Iranian border, in 2023, and the Nangarhar province in 2022, killing hundreds and destroying thousands of homes.
