After much speculation, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday named Lieutenant-General Asim Munir as the new chief of the country’s powerful army, the information minister announced on Twitter today. He will assume office on November 27.
Munir, the first ever COAS (chief of army staff), has attained the title of Hafiz-e-Quran, for memorising the Quran. He is also a recipient of the Sword of Honour from the Mangla Officers Training School.
Lt Gen Munir, considered to be an outstanding officer, was the proverbial dark horse in the race for the army chief’s position due to the ongoing political scuffle in the nation.
He was promoted to the rank of a two-star general in September 2018, but took charge two months later, reported Dawn.
On November 27, when the current Chairman and the Joint Chief of Staff Committee Gen Nadeem Raza and Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa will be taking off their military uniforms, Munir’s four years as a Lieutenant General will come to an end.
Lt Gen Munir joined the military after graduating from the Mangla Officers Training School and was commissioned into the Frontier Force Regiment.
Since he oversaw troops in the Force Command Northern Areas as a brigadier under the departing army leader, who was then Commander of X Corps, he has been close to Gen Bajwa.
Lt Gen Munir was named Military Intelligence Director General in early 2017 and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief in October of the same year.
His tenure as the top intelligence officer, however, ended up being the shortest in history, since, at the behest of then prime minister Imran Khan, he was replaced by Lt Gen Faiz Hamid, after only eight months.
Prior to being transferred to the General Headquarters as the quartermaster general, he was stationed as the commander of the Gujranwala Corps, a position he held for two years.
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