Asim Munir Gets Field Marshal Title: Last Time It Happened, Pakistan Slid Into Dictatorship
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In 1959, Field Marshal Ayub Khan exiled Pakistan's top civilian leaders and seized total control. With Munir now wearing the same rank, is history about to echo?
In 1959, then-Pakistan President Iskander Mirza became disillusioned with democracy and invited then-Pakistan Army Chief Ayub Khan to impose martial law, wrongly assuming he could keep him in check.
Pakistan was facing absolute political chaos after its creation due to the Partition of India in 1947. Constant no-confidence motions, collapsing coalitions and a crumbling parliamentary system crippled Pakistan and the government was losing grip on Islamabad as well as on eastern Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
After its creation, Pakistan witnessed a rapid churn in leadership. Seven prime ministers came and went between 1947 and 1958, none completing a full term. Civilian institutions remained weak, with the parliament unstable, the bureaucracy dominant and the military growing in influence.
The Muslim League, once the face of the freedom struggle, had splintered and lost ground. Following the deaths of MA Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan, unelected officials and bureaucrats held sway.
A new constitution in 1956 turned Pakistan into a republic but failed to bring political stability.
Due to this Mirza abolished the 1956 Constitution, declared martial law and appointed General Ayub Khan as Chief Martial Law Administrator on October 7, 1958.
Mirza thought Ayub would remain a loyal subordinate while he continued to pull the strings from the presidency. Instead, Ayub moved fast.
He assumed the presidency himself, becoming Pakistan's first military ruler.
What is noteworthy is the fact that when Ayub took power in 1959, he first promoted himself to Field Marshal to cement his hold on power.
The move was both symbolic and political as he positioned himself above the military and civilian leadership.
He ruled until 1969 under a military-backed setup that brought press censorship and a tightly controlled presidential system. His regime laid the groundwork for decades of military dominance in Pakistan.
Fast forward to 2025, Pakistan has a new Field Marshal — General Asim Munir. He is the first army chief to get this title since Ayub Khan. The decision was approved by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's cabinet on May 20, just days after the Pakistan Army took heavy losses in the latest conflict with India.
The violence began after a terror attack in Pahalgam killed Indian tourists. In response, India launched Operation Sindoor, hitting terror camps in Pakistan and PoK. When the Pakistan Army tried to protect these camps, Indian forces also struck their air bases and military posts, causing major damage.
Munir's promotion comes in the middle of rising tensions. He has backed groups involved in cross-border attacks and has used sharp language about India, even invoking the two-nation theory that led to the Partition in 1947.
While the Field Marshal title is mostly symbolic now, in a country where the military runs the show and elected governments are often sidelined, the move brings back memories of Ayub Khan, and how Pakistan slipped into dictatorship soon after.
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First Published:
May 20, 2025, 21:45 IST
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