[Source/Observation Network by Mountain Cat]
According to a report by Reuters on the 20th, the Office of the Prime Minister of Pakistan stated in a statement on the same day that General Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan, was promoted to the rank of General. This promotion took place shortly after a series of military conflicts between India and Pakistan. The order was approved by the cabinet chaired by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, marking the first time in over 60 years that someone in the Pakistani Army has been promoted to this rank.
(File Photo) General Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan
The Prime Minister's Office stated in the statement that this is a recognition of Munir's "strategic acumen in ensuring national security and decisively defeating the enemy." As an honorary rank, the General of the Pakistani Army usually does not come with additional powers or salary benefits. Munir will continue to serve as Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan with the rank of General. A senior security official told the media that this honor represents "extraordinary leadership" and "meritorious service during wartime." In addition, the Prime Minister's Office also stated that the cabinet decided to extend the term of Air Chief Marshal Zahir Ahmad Butt Sidhu, the current Chief of Air Staff, upon the expiration of his term.
Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah was born in Rawalpindi, Punjab Province in 1968. He began serving in the Pakistani Army in 1986. He graduated from the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Fuji School, the Command and Staff College Quetta of the Pakistan Armed Forces, the Malaysian Armed Forces Academy, and the National Defense University of Islamabad. He served in the Saudi Arabian Army under the agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, held positions such as Director of Military Intelligence, Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence, and Commander of the 30th Army, was promoted to full general in November 2022, and appointed as Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan.
Since the independence of Pakistan in 1947, only two people have been awarded the rank of General of the Pakistani Army. The last person to be awarded the rank of General of the Pakistani Army was Muhammad Ayub Khan (commonly known as Ayub Khan). Ayub Khan served as the third Chief of Army Staff and was also the first non-British Chief of Army Staff (position from 1947 to 1972, which was later abolished and re-established as Chief of Army Staff), and later served as Interior Minister, Fourth and Tenth Defense Minister, and as the second President of Pakistan from October 27, 1958, to March 25, 1969. Unlike Munir, Ayub had already retired before becoming president in 1958, and his rank of General was awarded on October 27, 1959. Therefore, Asim Munir is also the first active-duty General of the Pakistani Army since the independence of Pakistan.
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