Lt. Gen Asim Munir appointed as the new Army Chief of Pakistan

Pakistan Army Chief: Lieutenant General Asim Munir on November 24, 2022, was appointed as the new Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of Pakistan following weeks of intense speculation and political tussle in the country.

Pakistan Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb tweeted, “The Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has decided to appoint Lt. Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Lt. Gen. Syed Asim Munir as the Chief of the Army Staff using the constitutional authority. The summary of the same had also been sent to the President of Pakistan Arif Alvi.

Lt. Gen Asim Munir will take charge as the new Army Chief of Pakistan on November 29 when the incumbent, General Qamar Javed Bajwa leaves office at the scheduled end of his 6-years tenure.

PM of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif has decided to appoint Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff & Lt Gen Syed Asim Munir as the Chief of the Army Staff: Marriyum Aurangzeb, Pakistan Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting pic.twitter.com/Wz5plST8lF

— ANI (@ANI) November 24, 2022

Pakistan’s next Army Chief: Who is Lt. Gen Asim Munir?

Lt. Gen Asim Munir is at present the Quarter Master General at GHQ and is said to be close to General Bajwa. As a Brigadier, Munir was a Commander in the Force Command North Areas (FCNA), at a time when Bajwa was a Commander of the X Corps.

Lt. Gen Asim Munir is a graduate of the Officers Training School, Mangla, and the Senior most of the Present corp of two-star generals. They are all from the same batch of the Pakistan Military Academy.

Lt. Gen Asim Munir is an outstanding officer and was recently described by Shuja Nawaz, the author of ‘Crossed Swords’, a detailed account of the Pakistan Army’s internal role, as ‘a straight arrow’.

Opposition reaction in Pakistan

The Defence Minister of Pakistan has warned the opposition leader and the former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, saying that the coalition government will deal with him, after the completion of the appointment process of the new Army Chief.

However, Imran Khan can make a last-ditch attempt through the President of Pakistan Arif Alvi, a member of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party. While Shehbaz Sharif has cleared Asim Munir’s name, the President has just to sign off on it which is mostly a formality.

ASEAN Summit: India calls for free, Open and Inclusive Indo-Pacific in Defence Ministers meet