Even as he got slammed, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif promoted General Asim Munir to the rank of Field Marshal after getting the nation’s airbases ‘bombed’ and ‘failing’ in the conflict. This promotion makes him the second military officer in Pakistan’s history to be elevated to Pakistan’s highest military rank. General Ayub Khan was elevated to this rank in 1959.
The 57-year-old Munir, the son of a schoolteacher, is an infantry officer and a former head of both the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence. He remains army chief until November 2027 and could be appointed for another five-year term at that point.
Users slammed Pakistan as ‘clown country’ for promoting General Munir to the position of field marshal. (X/@PakistanC0AS)
According to an official statement, the decision to promote Munir was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. “The Government of Pakistan has approved the promotion of Gen Asim Munir (Nishan-e-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,” the Pakistani prime minister’s office said.
Gen Munir’s promotion has been packaged as a reward for his so-called military success against India. However, it is more a desperate attempt to mask the failure of his Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos. Munir’s elevation cements his control, not credibility.
“Promoting Munir to Field Marshal just proves how helpless and useless Pakistan’s government and civil administration are. He’s doubling down on his narrative of victory and by elevating his position, tightening his grip and control on Pakistan. Musharraf 2.0 loading,” says Major Manik M Jolly
Curious Contradictions
Pakistan is a nation built on curious contradictions and such absurdities, which are no less than a miracle. Based on the fabricated narrative that Pakistan, with Munir’s “high strategy and courageous leadership defeated India” in its Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos, the hybrid Rawalpindi-Islamabad regime is busy patting itself on the back and handing out congratulatory notes. Munir’s promotion is a testament to the illusion.
It is indeed rather laughable that Munir’s promotion from General to Field Marshal was “for ensuring the security of the country and defeating the enemy based on the high strategy and courageous leadership of the Battle of Truth, Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos.”
“Gen Syed Asim Munir has promoted himself to Field Marshal,” wrote UK-based social media influencer Imtiaz Mahmood on X. According to analysts, it was Munir who commanded that the civilian puppet regime promote him to the position of Field Marshal, a position redundant for decades.
Nothing could be a more appropriate description than what Major Manik M Jolly (Retd), a decorated veteran of Gorkha Regiment and Military Intelligence who operated extensively in Kashmir in counter-terrorist operations and also commanded intelligence and counter-intelligence detachments said, “Promoting Munir to Field Marshal just proves how helpless and useless Pakistan’s government and civil administration are. He’s doubling down on his narrative of victory and by elevating his position, tightening his grip and control on Pakistan. Musharraf 2.0 loading.”
Major Jolly aptly said about the perception that Munir’s promotion could be less about merit and more about consolidating power in a country where the military has overshadowed civilian governance.
Anti-India Rhetoric
Munir’s promotion at this juncture also shows how it could be an attempt to bolster the Hafiz-e-Quran’s image as Pakistan’s ‘great saviour’, a narrative that was on explicit display during his anti-Hindu and anti-India rhetoric from the speech delivered days before the Pahalgam attack on April 22.
The reality of Pakistan’s Operation Bunyan al-Marsoos starkly contrasts Pakistan’s claims of victory.
With the elevation of Munir to Field Marshal, even after India’s Operation Sindoor, there is a need for the Indian armed forces to remain on alert as the current lull may be another one before the storm.
Known for his strong anti-Hindu feelings and spreading communal hatred, Munir is capable of inciting the extremist elements in Pakistan after the destruction of nine terror launch pads, including key ones in Bahawalpur and Muridke, killing around 100 terrorists. The battle is likely to continue.
Though his promotion was signed by the Pakistani government, netizens on social media are trolling Asim Munir for ‘promoting himself’. This is in reference to the military chief calling the shots in Pakistan through the public imagery of a PM and a government.
Security analysts and Pakistan watchers believe that Gen Munir’s lifetime rank of field marshal will not only undermine the military’s institutional norms but also distort succession dynamics, entrench praetorianism and alienate ambitious senior officers, by effectively blocking their upward mobility
Simmering Discontent
Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah is a ‘five-star’ Pakistani military officer who is currently serving as the 11th Chief of the Army Staff of the Pakistan Army since 2022. Prior to becoming the army chief, he was posted at the GHQ as Quartermaster general.
The formal elevation to the rank of field marshal is likely to create structural anomalies within the Pakistan Army and spark simmering discontent amongst sections of its senior leadership.
A cross-section of security analysts and Pakistan watchers believe that General Munir’s ‘upgrade’ to the five-star, lifetime rank of field marshal will not only undermine the military’s institutional norms but also distort succession dynamics, entrench praetorianism and alienate ambitious senior officers, by effectively blocking their upward mobility.
– The writer is a senior journalist and media consultant. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda.
