Pakistan puts price tag on its soldiers: Asim Munir wanted $10,000 per troop for Gaza mission, Israel offered $100

Pakistan Army soldiers stand guard at the Red Zone area, ahead of the arrival of Chinese Premier Li Qiang for a four-day bilateral visit and a heads-of-government gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), in Islamabad, Pakistan October 14, 2024. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

Pakistan’s army has once again landed in controversy, this time for reportedly putting a price tag on its soldiers. Veteran Pakistani journalist Asma Shirazi has claimed that army chief General Asim Munir demanded $10,000 per soldier from Israel for deploying Pakistani troops to Gaza as part of a proposed peacekeeping force.

If true, the revelation exposes the Pakistani military’s long-standing reputation as a “renter army” that fights for money, not principle. It also makes a mockery of Islamabad’s self-proclaimed image as the “defender of Muslim causes,” showing that even in a crisis like Gaza, Pakistan’s military sees opportunity not in peace, but in profit.

Pakistan’s troops in Gaza: A ‘peacekeeping’ mission with a price tag

US President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan had proposed the creation of an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) -- a temporary, multinational deployment meant to train Palestinian police and help rebuild the war-torn region. The force, Trump said, would have “no American boots on the ground” and would instead rely on Arab and international partners.

Among those volunteering support was Pakistan. In late October, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told Geo News that Islamabad would be “proud” to send troops to Gaza. “If Pakistan has to participate in it, then I think it will be a matter of pride for us. We will be proud to do it,” Asif said.

Reports suggested Pakistan planned to send around 20,000 soldiers to Gaza under this arrangement. According to News18, the move followed secret meetings between Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir, Israel’s Mossad, and the CIA. Sources told the outlet that Pakistani forces would “neutralise remaining Hamas elements and stabilise the territory under Western instructions.”

The so-called humanitarian deployment would effectively mark Pakistan’s first indirect engagement with Israel, a country it does not officially recognise -- a “historic and unprecedented realignment,” as geopolitical experts described it.

The $10,000 demand that exposed Pakistan’s motives

The controversy erupted after senior journalist Asma Shirazi claimed that Asim Munir had demanded $10,000 (Rs 8.86 lakh) per soldier from Israel in return for the deployment. Israel, however, reportedly refused, offering a mere $100 (Rs 8,860) per soldier instead.

If Shirazi’s claims hold true, the demand would amount to $200 million in total; a sum that exposes the Pakistani military’s transactional approach to global crises. Instead of showing solidarity with Palestinians, Pakistan appeared to have turned the Gaza crisis into a cash deal.

The revelation undermines Islamabad’s decades-long propaganda of being the “defender of the Muslim world.” It paints a picture of a state that prioritises profit over principle, with its generals allegedly using peacekeeping as a cover for rent-seeking.

A long history of Pakistan’s ‘army for hire’

The idea of Pakistan renting out its army is not new. For decades, Islamabad has sent troops abroad, not out of altruism, but in exchange for cash, oil, or political leverage.

From the 1979 Grand Mosque seizure in Mecca, when Pakistani commandos helped Saudi Arabia crush an uprising, to the two American wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan has profited handsomely from deploying soldiers overseas.

Even in recent years, the trend has continued. During the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, Pakistan deployed troops for security, coinciding with Doha’s announcement of a $2 billion bailout for Pakistan’s struggling economy. Many saw it as a quid pro quo arrangement.

As journalist Shekhar Gupta wrote in The Print, “The Pakistani military and strategic capital has always been available for rent, whether for cash, kind (from the Middle-East Arabs) or strategic and economic benefit, as with the US.”

A nation’s image in free fall

The outrage over the alleged $10,000-per-soldier deal has only deepened Pakistan’s global embarrassment. Instead of being seen as a responsible player in the Middle East, it now risks being viewed as a mercenary state that monetises its military under the guise of diplomacy.

For Pakistan’s people, the news is another reminder of how their army, long revered as a national institution, continues to trade its integrity for profit. For the world, it confirms what many already suspected, that Islamabad’s foreign policy, much like its economy, runs on rent.