Who is Pakistan's new army chief Asim Munir?
Pakistan's government nominated on Thursday a former spymaster to be the next military chief, a position long considered the real power in the nuclear-armed Islamic nation of 220 million people. Syed Asim Munir, currently quartermaster general, will replace General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who is due to retire this month after serving as Chief of Army Staff since November 2016.
- World
- Reuters
- Published Date: 12:16 | 24 November 2022
- Modified Date: 12:21 | 24 November 2022
Pakistan on Thursday named Lieutenant-General Asim Munir as the new chief of its powerful army.
The role is key in Pakistan, where the army has historically played an outsized role in the domestic and foreign policy of governance of this nuclear-armed nation.
Here are five facts about Munir:
-He was chief of Pakistan's two most influential intelligence agencies, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Military Intelligence (MI).
-He was prematurely removed as chief of the ISI on the request of then prime minister Imran Khan. No reason was given for his removal.
-He is currently serving as the army's quartermaster general.
-He is the most senior ranking general after outgoing army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
-He will be Pakistan's 17th army chief since it declared independence from Britain in 1947. That compares with about 30 prime ministers during the same period.