Janjua was one of only four high-ranking officers to have died in active service, alongside Admiral Hasan Hafeez Ahmed (1975), General Zia-ul-Haq (1988), and Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir (2002).

His unexpected death was initially surrounded by uncertainty, with some speculating foul play after high levels of arsenic poisoning were detected in his body.

His family requested further investigations, including the exhumation of his body and an autopsy conducted with the assistance of international experts from France, Britain, and the United States.

Asif Nawaz Janjua was born in a small village, called Chakri Rajgan, which is located in the Jhelum District in Punjab in Pakistan into a Punjabi Janjua Rajput clan, on 31 January 1937.: 81 [2]: 441 [3]: 29  He was a military brat and his father, Raja Abdul Ghafoor Khan, had served as an officer in the British Indian Army, retiring at the rank of Major.

Two Irish teachers there who taught him the value of life and humanity, Father Francis and May Flanagan, had a significant influence on his upbringing and future career.

: 316 [3] In 1971, Major Janjua fought in the third war with India in 1971 after taking over the command of his 5th Battalion and saw combat in the Chamb sector against the Indian Army.

: 441 [9] After the third war with India in 1971, Major Janjua continued his military service and graduated from the Command and Staff College in Quetta, where he excelled in his studies.

[11][14] His command over the army came when the military embargo had been placed by the United States due to the suspicion about his country's clandestine atomic bomb program.

[15] Gen. Janjua immediately made a press release through the ISPR where he committed to preventing military interference in national politics when he noted that the "army's image had been tarnished and its officers corrupted in Pakistan's 25 years of martial law.

In April 1993, Janjua's widow Nuzhat, claimed that her husband had been poisoned by Brigadier Imtiaz, head of the Intelligence Bureau, Shahbaz Sharif, and Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan.

[18] Janjua was among just four senior officers to have died while in active service, alongside Admiral Hasan Hafeez Ahmed (1975), General Zia-ul-Haq (1988), and Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir (2002).