United News of Bangladesh

The Chief Adviser's Press Wing has refuted reports emanating from India that the chief of Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence or ISI, is currently on a visit to Bangladesh. Citing a Defence Ministry spokesman, the press wing led by press secretary Shafiqul Alam, on its factcheck page on Facebook, said: "The Chief of ISI is not visiting Bangladesh. The news circulating in press and social media is false." Nasimul Ghani not a Hizb ut-Tahrir member, says CA's Press Wing Earlier on Wednesday, a report in the Economic Times, the respected Indian financial daily, said ISI chief Lieutenant General Asim Malik was visiting Dhaka with a view to creating an intelligence-sharing network between Pakistan and Bangladesh. It added that the visit marked the first time in decades that a Pakistani intelligence chief visited Dhaka. A slew of Indian outlets proceeded to report the same, citing the ET story as the original source. That didn't stop them from adding their own layers to the story, in each case based entirely on anonymous sources. Northeast News, an online portal, said the ISI delegation even flew to Rangpur to the area near what is known as 'the chicken neck', a particularly sensitive area for India's security concerns. CA's Press Wing sits with journalist groups The Hindustan Times on the other hand, reported on Thursday evening that a 4-member ISI delegation is visiting Bangladesh, sans chief Lt Gen Asim Malik. It said the delegation is being led by Major General Shahid Amir Afsar, the ISI’s director general of analysis who previously served as Pakistan’s defence attache in Beijing.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has decided to appoint the country's former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief as head of the country's army, the information minister said Thursday (November 24, 2022). Maryam Aurangzeb tweeted Sharif's decision to name Lt. Gen. Syed Asim Munir as the new army chief, shortly after the premier presided over a crucial Cabinet meeting in the capital, Islamabad. Munir would replace retiring army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa. Read more: Militants kill six police officers during ambush in northwest Pakistan The information minister said Sharif has also decided to appoint Lt. Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. The latest development comes a week before Bajwa is to retire after completing his six-year extended term. However, it was not clear whether Alvi will immediately approve the appointments, as he is a former member of the country's opposition leader Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf party. Read more: Ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan wounded in firing at anti-govt rally Pakistan’s army has historically wielded huge political influence and ruled the country for half of its 75-year history.