{"id":1989,"date":"2022-11-24T13:29:47","date_gmt":"2022-11-24T13:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=1989"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:51:21","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:51:21","slug":"who-is-pakistans-new-army-chief-asim-munir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/analysis\/defense\/who-is-pakistans-new-army-chief-asim-munir\/2022\/11\/24\/hasan\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is Pakistan’s new army chief Asim Munir?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reuters;<\/span> Islamabad,<\/span> Nov.<\/span> 24<\/span> (Reuters)<\/span> –<\/span> Pakistan<\/span> on<\/span> Thursday<\/span> appointed<\/span> Lieutenant<\/span> General<\/span> Asim<\/span> Munir<\/span> to<\/span> head<\/span> the<\/span> army,<\/span> an<\/span> organization<\/span> that<\/span> plays<\/span> a<\/span> highly<\/span> influential<\/span> role<\/span> in<\/span> leading<\/span> the<\/span> nuclear-armed<\/span> states<\/span>.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>His<\/span> appointment<\/span> coincides<\/span> with<\/span> a<\/span> dispute<\/span> between<\/span> the<\/span> military<\/span> and<\/span> former<\/span> Prime<\/span> Minister<\/span> Imran<\/span> Khan,<\/span> who<\/span> has<\/span> accused<\/span> the<\/span> military<\/span> of<\/span> playing<\/span> a<\/span> role<\/span> in<\/span> his<\/span> downfall<\/span> earlier<\/span> this<\/span> year<\/span> and<\/span> has<\/span> led<\/span> anti-government<\/span> protests<\/span> since.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Mounir<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> son<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> schoolteacher<\/span> who<\/span> grew<\/span> up<\/span> in<\/span> Garrison<\/span> Rawalpindi,<\/span> former<\/span> military<\/span> officials<\/span> say.<\/span> He<\/span> received<\/span> a<\/span> prestigious<\/span> officer<\/span> award,<\/span> known<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> “sword<\/span> of<\/span> honor,”<\/span> for<\/span> being<\/span> top<\/span> of<\/span> his<\/span> class<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> military<\/span> academy,<\/span> an<\/span> official<\/span> told<\/span> Reuters.<\/span> In<\/span> a<\/span> country<\/span> where<\/span> the<\/span> military<\/span> has<\/span> long<\/span> played<\/span> a<\/span> dominant<\/span> role<\/span> in<\/span> politics,<\/span> Munir<\/span> has<\/span> also<\/span> served<\/span> in<\/span> disputed<\/span> territories<\/span> with<\/span> India,<\/span> which<\/span> borders<\/span> China,<\/span> and<\/span> Saudi<\/span> Arabia,<\/span> Pakistan’s<\/span> main<\/span> financial<\/span> backer.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Munir<\/span> then<\/span> headed<\/span> his<\/span> two<\/span> most<\/span> influential<\/span> intelligence<\/span> agencies<\/span> in<\/span> Pakistan.<\/span> First<\/span> he<\/span> was<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> Military<\/span> Intelligence<\/span> Service<\/span> (MI)<\/span> in<\/span> 2017<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> Inter-Military<\/span> Intelligence<\/span> Service<\/span> (ISI)<\/span> in<\/span> 2018.<\/span> Director<\/span> of<\/span> ISI.<\/span> Prime<\/span> Minister<\/span> Imran<\/span> Khan.<\/span> No<\/span> reason<\/span> was<\/span> given<\/span> for<\/span> his<\/span> dismissal.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>current<\/span> task<\/span>
\n<\/span>Mounir<\/span> is<\/span> currently<\/span> serving<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> Army’s<\/span> Quartermaster<\/span> General<\/span> and<\/span> is<\/span> in<\/span> charge<\/span> of<\/span> supplies.<\/span> He<\/span> is<\/span> also<\/span> the<\/span> highest-ranking<\/span> general<\/span> after<\/span> General<\/span> Kamal<\/span> Javed<\/span> Bajwa,<\/span> the<\/span> person<\/span> he<\/span> replaced<\/span> as<\/span> chief<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> military.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Munir<\/span> will<\/span> begin<\/span> his<\/span> three-year<\/span> term<\/span> as<\/span> secretary<\/span> of<\/span> war<\/span> on<\/span> November<\/span> 29,<\/span> becoming<\/span> the<\/span> 17th<\/span> secretary<\/span> of<\/span> war<\/span> since<\/span> Pakistan’s<\/span> independence<\/span> from<\/span> Britain<\/span> in<\/span> 1947.<\/span> This<\/span> equates<\/span> to<\/span> about<\/span> 30<\/span> prime<\/span> ministers<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> same<\/span> period.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>A<\/span> former<\/span> general<\/span> who<\/span> worked<\/span> with<\/span> Mounir<\/span> described<\/span> him<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> “clear<\/span> head”.<\/span> Task<\/span>
\n<\/span>Mounir<\/span> must<\/span> fulfill<\/span> his<\/span> predecessor<\/span> Bajwa’s<\/span> promise<\/span> to<\/span> keep<\/span> his<\/span> army<\/span> out<\/span> of<\/span> politics.<\/span> Little<\/span> is<\/span> known<\/span> about<\/span> Munir’s<\/span> own<\/span> political<\/span> affiliation,<\/span> but<\/span> analysts<\/span> are<\/span> skeptical<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> Pakistani<\/span> military<\/span> could<\/span> become<\/span> a<\/span> non-political<\/span> institution.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Khan,<\/span> who<\/span> was<\/span> wounded<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> shootout<\/span> during<\/span> anti-government<\/span> protests<\/span> earlier<\/span> this<\/span> month,<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> latest<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> long<\/span> list<\/span> of<\/span> civilian<\/span> leaders<\/span> who<\/span> have<\/span> accused<\/span> the<\/span> military<\/span> of<\/span> removing<\/span> him<\/span> from<\/span> power.<\/span> This<\/span> includes<\/span> the<\/span> longest-serving<\/span> prime<\/span> minister,<\/span> Nawaz<\/span> Sharif,<\/span> who<\/span> has<\/span> held<\/span> power.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> military<\/span> has<\/span> denied<\/span> any<\/span> involvement<\/span> in<\/span> Khan’s<\/span> ouster,<\/span> but<\/span> analysts<\/span> expect<\/span> it<\/span> will<\/span> continue<\/span> its<\/span> military<\/span> efforts<\/span> to<\/span> keep<\/span> Khan,<\/span> whom<\/span> Mounir<\/span> has<\/span> vocally<\/span> criticized,<\/span> out<\/span> of<\/span> power.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reuters; Islamabad, Nov. 24 (Reuters) – Pakistan on Thursday appointed Lieutenant General Asim Munir to head the army, an organization that plays a highly influential role in leading the nuclear-armed states. His appointment coincides with a dispute between the military and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has accused the military of playing a role […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[26,280,2406,2407,2425,2459],"tags":[56,61,369,370,371],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/lt-gen-asim-munir-phototwitter.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1989"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1989"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1991,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1989\/revisions\/1991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}