Pak’s Army chief Gen Asim Munir now Field Marshal
Pakistan’s Cabinet on Tuesday promoted Army Chief General General Asim Munir to the rank of Field Marshal. He has been Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff since 2022.
The move comes days after India and Pakistan engaged in firing and military action after tensions escalated between the two countries.
The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, “in recognition of the strategic brilliance and courageous leadership that ensured national security and decisively defeated the enemy.”
Munir responded to the promotion saying that he was grateful to God for receiving the position and dedicated the promotion to the “entire nation, the armed forces of Pakistan, especially the civil and military martyrs and veterans,” reported Dawn.
He feels grateful to the president of Pakistan, the prime minister and the cabinet for their trust and added that it was an honour to have the trust of the nation, for which “millions of Asims have sacrificed themselves”.
“This is not an individual honour but an honour for the armed forces of Pakistan and the entire nation,” he added, as quoted by Dawn.
The position of field marshal is a ceremonial five-star rank that usually signifies extraordinary leadership and wartime achievement, reported Reuters citing security officials.
The promotion is the first since Pakistani dictator General Ayub Khan made himself a field marshal in 1965. However, the rank is ceremonial and Munir will remain Army Chief despite the change.
The cabinet also decided to indefinitely extend the service of Pakistan Air Force chief Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu after his term expires.
As tensions between the India and Pakistan escalated Asim Munir had announced that while Pakistan sought peace, they would not hesitate to take action to protect their national prestige.
India has also maintained that Operation Sindoor has not ended and it will hit back if provoked.
Prior to being appointed to Pakistan army’s top post, Munir headed the country’s intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) when tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pulwama suicide attack in February 2019 that resulted in the death of 40 CRPF personnel.
Watch: India won’t de-escalate unilaterally; Pakistan backed into a corner by Asim Munir | Op Sindoor
General Asim Munir replaced General Qamar Javed Bajwa as the Chief of Army Staff in November, 2022.
Asim Munir has been serving as the 11th Chief of the Army Staff in Pakistan since 2022.
In November 2024, his tenure as Army Chief was extended from three to five years.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan also strengthened the Army under Asim Munir, in their ability to suppress citizens recently by ruling in favour of military courts conducting trials of civilians.
News Edit KV Raman
