New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS): The first and foremost priority of Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum, who has been appointed as the new Director General of Pakistan's external spy wing Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is to crush the Balochistan freedom movement.

Following his appointment on Wednesday, Lt Gen Anjum replaced Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, who was seen with the Taliban after the fall of Kabul on August 15.

Lt Gen Hameed, who was heading the spy agency since June 16, 2019, has now been appointed as Commander of the Peshawar Corps, which would make him eligible for the next Pakistan Army chief.

The incumbent Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa is on extension till 2022.

As the Peshawar Corps Commander, Lt Gen Hameed would also be working with the US and the Chinese as both are playing a major role in Afghanistan after its fall to the Taliban.

Lt Gen Anjum had previously worked in Balochistan as Inspector General of the Frontier Corps Balochistan for a while and has been infamous for stalling and disrupting freedom movement in the region through militia.

He had also served as the commander of Karachi Corps and it was in 2019 that he was promoted as Lieutenant General. He has also held command postings near the Line of Control.

The new ISI DG hails from the Pakistan Military Academy's (PMA) 78th Long Course and the Punjab Regiment.

He also served as the commandant of the Command and Staff College in Quetta and was also the commander of a brigade in Kurram Agency, Hangu.

Lt Gen Anjum graduated from the Royal College of Defense Studies in the UK and also holds a degree from the Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies, Honolulu.