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News18
21-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
Will Asim Munir's Promotion To Field Marshal Trigger Another Coup In Pakistan Like 1958?
Last Updated: Unlike Ayub Khan, General Asim Munir was granted the rank of Field Marshal by the civilian government, seen largely by experts as symbolic, rather than conferring it upon himself General Asim Munir's elevation to the rank of Field Marshal has sparked speculation among experts about a growing shift towards military rule in Pakistan. Analysts suggest that, in the aftermath of the Indian Army's Operation Sindoor, the Pakistani military seems to be increasingly asserting control over the civilian government led by Shehbaz Sharif. On Tuesday, the Pakistani government announced General Munir's promotion, making him the second army chief in the country's history to achieve this rank, following former military ruler General Mohammad Ayub Khan in 1959. Unlike Ayub, who conferred the rank upon himself near his retirement, Munir's appointment comes directly from the civilian government. However, many strategic experts have raised concerns about the burgeoning influence of the military in Pakistan's politics. Who Was General Mohammad Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan served as the President of Pakistan from 1958 to 1969. He came to power through a military coup in 1958 and appointed himself President. The following year, as his retirement approached, he conferred upon himself the rank of Field Marshal—an act he claimed was in response to repeated appeals from civil society, though many view it as a self-bestowed honour. After assuming the rank, Ayub handed over command of the army to General Musa Khan and shifted his focus to governing the country. Ayub's military career was marked by controversy. Commissioned into the Punjab Regiment of British India in 1928, he later served as the commanding officer of the Assam Regiment during World War II. However, reports indicate that he was removed from command by his superior due to what was deemed weak leadership. Despite this, he rose through the ranks and, in 1951, became the first native Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, a position he held until the 1958 coup. Unlike Ayub Khan, General Asim Munir has been awarded the rank of Field Marshal by the civilian government—though largely seen as symbolic—rather than assuming it himself. Another key difference is that while Ayub relinquished his role as Army Chief after taking the Field Marshal title, Munir will continue to serve as Army Chief while holding the rank. In November 2024, Pakistan's National Assembly extended the tenure of the chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force from three to five years, meaning Munir will now remain in office until 2027. Military Career Of General Asim Munir Asim Munir was born in 1968 in Rawalpindi. He was commissioned into the Pakistan Army in 1986 through the Officers Training School in Mangal, Punjab, where he was awarded the Sword of Honour. Over the years, he received military training in Japan, Malaysia and Islamabad, and also memorized the Quran during a posting in Saudi Arabia. Munir served in the Frontier Force Regiment and was later posted as a Brigadier in the Northern Areas. In 2019, as Director-General of the ISI, he played a key role during the Pulwama attack. He was appointed Chief of Army Staff in 2022. Role Of A Field Marshal The rank of Field Marshal in Pakistan, as in India, is largely ceremonial and symbolises exceptional wartime leadership. It does not carry any additional command authority or salary benefits. However, it allows the holder to remain on the active list even after retirement, enabling them to wear the uniform and display special insignia for life. The rank includes privileges such as five stars on the official vehicle and the use of a special baton during salutes. What Does Genereal Munir's Promotion Signify General Munir's promotion has sparked debate among strategic experts, with some viewing it as a recognition of his military achievements and others as a move to further entrench military power in Pakistan. Despite the failure of Pakistan's retaliation in Operation Sindoor, Munir's strategic role has been highlighted. According to several experts, this reflects the deep-seated military-political dynamics in Pakistan where the army has always held significant sway. Field Marshals In India Only two officers have been awarded the rank of Field Marshal in the history of the Indian Army. The first was Sam Manekshaw, who received the honour in 1973. He is renowned for leading India to victory in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh. Manekshaw became the first Field Marshal of India. The second was Kodandera Madappa Cariappa (K.M. Cariappa), who was conferred the rank in 1986. He was the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army after independence and played a key role in the 1947–48 Indo-Pak war. Watch India Pakistan Breaking News on CNN-News18. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from geopolitics to diplomacy and global trends. Stay informed with the latest world news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : army chief coup General Asim Munir military rule Operation Sindoor Pakistan army promotion Location : Pakistan First Published: May 21, 2025, 12:19 IST News world Will Asim Munir's Promotion To Field Marshal Trigger Another Coup In Pakistan Like 1958?
Express Tribune
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Here's what Gen Asim Munir's promotion to Field Marshal means
Listen to article The federal government has promoted Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir to the rank of field marshal on Tuesday in recognition of his leadership during Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, launched in response to India's recent military aggression. Operation Bunyanum Marsoos stands as a landmark achievement in Pakistan's military history. Under the skillful leadership and successful war strategy of Field Marshal Asim Munir, the armed forces defended the motherland. Read More: Gen Asim Munir promoted to rank of field marshal The decision was announced following a federal cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. 'The Government of Pakistan has approved the promotion of General Syed Asim Munir (Nishan-i-Imtiaz Military) to the rank of field marshal for ensuring the security of the country and defeating the enemy based on the high strategy and courageous leadership during Operation Bunyanum Marsoos,' the official statement read. A field marshal is the highest honorary rank in the army, typically a five-star position that stands above that of a general. The title is awarded for extraordinary military leadership and strategic excellence but does not carry any additional constitutional authority or operational command. General Munir is only the second officer in Pakistan's history to receive the rank. The first was former president Mohammad Ayub Khan, who was awarded the title in 1959. Read More: Air Chief Marshal gets extension after Operation Bunyanum Mursoos success He joined the Pakistan Army via the Mangla Officers Training School programme and was commissioned into the Frontier Force Regiment. He previously commanded forces in the Northern Areas as a brigadier and went on to serve as director-general of Military Intelligence in 2017, followed by his appointment as head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in 2018. COAS Munir later commanded the Gujranwala Corps and served as Quarter Master General at the General Headquarters (GHQ). In November 2022, he became Pakistan's 17th Chief of Army Staff. He holds the distinction of being the only COAS to have led both the MI and ISI. He is also the first army chief to be awarded the prestigious Sword of Honour.
New Indian Express
20-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Pakistan gets second Field Marshal as Army chief General Asim Munir promoted
NEW DELHI: Amidst the ongoing tensions with India, the Pakistan Army got its second Field Marshal on Tuesday after the Cabinet led by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took the decision to promote Army chief General Asim Munir. He follows in the footsteps of General Ayub Khan who had self-promoted himself in 1959 when he was the country's President. The move comes in the wake of Operation Sindoor launched by India in response to the killing of 26 civilians in a terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22. The Indian Air Force and Indian Army jointly struck nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7. While Pakistan tried to retaliate with missiles and drones, India's air defences brought them down and the IAF also struck multiple air bases including those in Nur Khan, Sargodha and Rahim Yar Khan. The rank of Field Marshal is usually conferred upon an officer with an impeccable service record. In the case of Munir, however, the then Prime Minister Imran Khan had removed him as the director general of the powerful Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) nine months after he took over. Born in 1968, Munir graduated from the Pakistan Officers Training School in 1986 and was awarded the Sword of Honour as the best cadet of his batch and became the 11th Army chief on November 29, 2022, replacing General Qamar Javed Bajwa. He had two major stints with the powerful intelligence directorate of the Pakistan Army, being director of military intelligence in 2016 and taking over as the director general of the ISI in 2018. His ISI tenure was truncated after his relations with then PM Imran Khan, who is now in jail, soured. When Imran was arrested, he had publicly implicated Munir for playing a role in his arrest. Imran's successor Shehbaz Sharif chose Munir as the Pakistan Army chief. Imran had tried to spike Munir's appointment as army chief and lobbied to install his trusted officer Gen Faiz Hameed in the powerful seat instead.
Indian Express
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir promoted to Field Marshal: What this means
The Government of Pakistan has announced that the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army, General Asim Munir, is being promoted to the rank of Field Marshal. This makes him the second Field Marshal of the Pakistan Army in its history after Field Marshal Ayub Khan. Mohammad Ayub Khan, who was the president of Pakistan from 1958 to 1969, was the first Field Marshal of Pakistan Army. However, it is worth noting that Ayub Khan essentially promoted himself to the highest military rank in the Army after having carried out a coup and installing himself as the President of the country in 1958. The next year in 1959, nearing his age of retirement from the Army, Ayub Khan awarded himself the rank of Field Marshal, citing 'persistent requests' from members of the Pakistani civil society. A proclamation promoting him was issued by the Presidential cabinet in October 1959. Did Ayub Khan serve as Pakistan Army Chief after becoming Field Marshal? No, Ayub Khan had appointed General Musa Khan as Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army after he became the President. He was not in active command of the Army thereafter and concentrated on running the country. How different is Asim Munir's elevation to Field Marshal from Ayub Khan's? The essential difference is that while Ayub promoted himself, Asim Munir has been promoted by the civilian government of Pakistan headed by a Prime Minister. Another major difference is that while Ayub did not command the Pakistan Army as a Field Marshal, Asim Munir will remain the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army till his scheduled date of retirement. He would have retired from Army in 2025 but for a legislation passed by the National Assembly of Pakistan in November 2024, which extended the tenure of the Army, Navy and Air Chiefs to five years from three years. He is now due to retire in 2027. General Asim Munir was commissioned in the Frontier Force Regiment in April 1986, after graduating from the Officers Training School (OTS) in Mangla (Punjab) which has now been shut down. He received the Sword of Honour at the passing out parade. He has attended career courses at the Fuji School in Japan, Command and Staff College in Quetta, Malaysian Armed Forces Defence College in Kuala Lumpur, and the National Defence University (NDU) in Islamabad. He is said to have studied Islamic studies while posted in Saudi Arabia and memorised the Quran. He has commanded the 23rd Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment as a Lt Colonel and commanded an infantry brigade in the Northern Areas as a Brigadier. As a Major General he served as Force Commander Northern Areas and later as Director General Military Intelligence. On promotion as Lt General he served as DG ISI and was on that post when the Pulwama terror attack took place in 2019. He subsequently served as GOC of 30 Corps in Gujranwala. Prior to his elevation as Chief of Army Staff in November 2022 he was serving as Quartermaster General in Pakistan GHQ in Rawalpindi. Are there any special perks of office which come with the rank of Field Marshal? The Indian and Pakistani armies follow the British pattern of ranks and privileges and under these, a Field Marshal is considered to be on 'active list' till his death. He does not hold any office in official capacity beyond his date of retirement but he is entitled to wear his uniform at any event he deems fit. A Field Marshal wears special badges of rank, has five stars displayed on his vehicle and as per tradition, salutes with the special Field Marshal's baton raised to the forehead and not the hand, as is the norm in a military salute. India has had two Field Marshals, Sam Manekshaw and KM Cariappa. What was the military background of Ayub Khan? Ayub Khan studied at the Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh, India, and joined the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, UK, passing out as commissioned officer in Indian Army in 1928. He served in the Punjab Regiment for most of his career till the rank of Lt Colonel but for a short stint in Assam Regiment. Serving as the second-in-command of his battalion as a senior Major, he was appointed as the Commanding Officer of 1st Battalion of the Assam Regiment in WW2 when his CO was killed in battle. He was removed from command shortly afterwards as his General Officer Commanding found him to be timid in command. After partition, he eventually rose to the rank of General and took over as Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army in 1959 and held that post till 1958 when he became the President.
Hindustan Times
12-05-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Op Sindoor architect Air Marshal Bharti gives fresh fame and pride to parents and Purnia
Jeevachhlal Yadav, 85, father of Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti, director general air operations (DGAO), the architect of the air operations in the ongoing Operation Sindoor, was not aware about the backstage heroics and the pyrotechnics his son had masterminded against Pakistan till his next door neighbour called out, asking him to tune in to TV news channels on Sunday evening. 'He did not tell me anything when he called up and spoke to me last week. He could have at least told me that he would be on TV. I would have watched the programme from the beginning,' said Yadav, ruing having lost the initial few minutes of Air Marshal Bharti's sound byte, as he sat in his bedroom wearing a vest and a bluish small checks lungi (wraparound), with a LPG cylinder behind him, in what is a modest 1,200 sq feet single storied residence near the DIG Chowk at Srinagar Hata in Purnia, the ancestral home of Air Marshal Bharti. An ebullient Yadav is glued to the TV since Sunday evening, not sure when Air Marshal Bharti will show up again. He was on TV again on Monday afternoon, as part of the media briefing, sharing details of how the IAF struck the Nur Khan airbase and Rahimyar Khan airbase in Pakistan and the Indian air defence system thwarted the Pakistani missile and drone attacks with minimal losses on the Indian side. Yadav watched him with glee and a sense of pride. Oblivious of all happenings, his mother, Urmila Devi, 80, was away to check for the cultivation in their fields at Jhunni Kalan village in Purnia. Air Marshal Bharti has given his parents newfound fame and respect in Purnia. 'People are either calling up or dropping by to congratulate us. We are happy beyond words and on cloud nine for what my son has done for the country,' said Yadav. 'Though my brother regularly calls up, he never discusses anything about what he is doing,' said Mithilesh Kumar, 48, younger sibling of Air Marshal Bharti who works in a pharmaceutical firm. 'It's easier to talk to bhabhi (Sangeeta Bharti), who hails from Kashmir and was a short service commission officer in the IAF before she got married to bhaiya in 1996,' said Kumar. Dr Rajesh Bharti, 45, the youngest of the three siblings, a private medical practitioner in Purnea, refused to talk, saying 'I'll have to ask my brother to speak to you.' 'My son was brilliant since childhood and stood first. He never took private tuition all through his primary schooling from Adarsh Madhya Vidyalaya, Parora, a government middle school in Purnea, and then at the Sainik School, Tilaiya, now in Jharkhand, having been bifurcated from Bihar in 2000. He went to the National Defence Academy (NDA), Pune, and got commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in June 1987,' said Yadav. Air Marshal Bharti has a highly accomplished professional past wherein he topped the NDA course and was awarded the prestigious 'Sword of Honour'. He also did the staff course at Wellington and prestigious National Defence College (NDC) at New Delhi. 'During his NDA days, Air Marshal Bharti was nicknamed 'galloping horse', as his crosscountry record there remained unbroken for many years,' recollected Group Captain Vishwajeet Kumar (retd), junior to Bharti in school and at the NDA. 'Air Marshal Bharti has been primarily responsible for planning air operations as desired by our Prime Minister to punish perpetrators of the barbaric Pahalgam killings,' added Group Capt Kumar (retd). Air Marshal Bharti commanded a frontline fighter base and held various important assignments within and outside India. Before taking over as the DGAO at air headquarters, he was posted as the senior air staff officer (SASO), Central Air Command, Prayagraj, where he also supervised the recently held Mahakumbh. Air Marshal Bharti has had previous important assignments at Strategic Force Command (SFC), air headquarters, advance headquarters and in Malaysia. As the architect of the air operations in the ongoing 'Operation Sindoor', he has been instrumental in planning, coordination and finally inflicting a punishing loss on Pakistan. IAF's planning and execution of missions deep inside Pakistan, including its strategic assets, compelled it to request for an immediate ceasefire. Air Marshal Bharti is a decorated soldier and has been awarded Vayu Sena (VM) and Ati Vishisht Seva (AVSM) medals for his distinguished service.
