DG ISI’s appearance in military uniform: Is Pakistan in ‘state of war’?
DG ISI Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum made another rare public appearance in military uniform during the funeral prayer of two intelligence officials.
The Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (DG ISI) Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum made another rare public appearance in military uniform during the funeral prayer of two intelligence officials, Naveed Sadiq and Nasir Hussain, in Khanewal who were martyred in a terror attack.
The DG ISI or top spy of the country, Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, and other military officials as well as the martyrs’ families attended the funeral prayers of the martyred intelligence officials in Khanewal.
The head of Pakistan’s powerful spy agency had made a rare appearance in a press conference in October last year in which he questioned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former premier Imran Khan’s anti-army statements.
At that time, Anjum was in civvies as usually the spy chief donning a civil dress in Pakistan.
In a recent public appearance amid a new wave of terrorism in Pakistan, the top spy donned a military uniform which gave an impression of a state of war situation after back-to-back terrorist attacks in different parts of the country.
Some journalists interpreted Anjum’s appearance as a signal of the ‘war against militancy’. A journalist, Salman Masood wrote on Twitter, “DG ISI Lt General Nadeem Anjum makes a rare appearance at the funeral of two intelligence officials. The symbolism is noteworthy. DG I, and other ISI officials, are generally in civvies. But at the funeral, DGI is seen wearing the military uniform, signalling war against militancy.”
The same tweet was posted by Fahmidah Yousfi and other netizens.
DG ISI Lt General Nadeem Anjum makes a rare appearance at the funeral of two intelligence officials. The symbolism is noteworthy. DG I, and other ISI officials, are generally in civvies. But at the funeral, DGI is seen wearing military uniform, signalling war against militancy. pic.twitter.com/EH8c3LGfpD
— Salman Masood (@salmanmasood) January 4, 2023
DG ISI Lt General Nadeem Anjum makes a rare appearance at the funeral of two intelligence officials. The symbolism is noteworthy. DG I, and other ISI officials, are generally in civvies. But at the funeral, DGI is seen wearing military uniform, signalling war against militancy. pic.twitter.com/F7gmtKoL4x
— Fahmidah Yousfi (@fahmidahyousfi) January 4, 2023
The tweet raised many eyebrows as the civil and military top brass recently aimed to intensify efforts to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country in the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting.
However, a netizen namely OSINT Insider rejected the impression and wrote, “Since when ISI chief’s military uniform has become a signal of war against militancy? they mostly wear uniform when attending funeral prayers of slain soldiers/ intelligence officials.”
Since when ISI chief’s military uniform has become a signal of war against militancy? they mostly wear uniform when attending funeral prayers of slain soldiers/ intelligence officials.
— OSINT Insider (@OSINT_Insider) January 4, 2023
As per the military ‘uniform regulations’ enforced in different countries, military officers and even retired ones can don military uniforms and adopt the full dress code during state or funeral occasions. Moreover, the personnel from the armed forces may also wear mourning badges while attending military or civilian funerals.