Lt Gen Asim Munir to becoming new Army Chief

WEB DESK

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday decided to appoint Lt Gen Asim Munir as the next Chief of Army Staff (COAS).

Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza has been shortlisted as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC).

Federal Minister for Broadcast Marriyum Aurangzeb tweeted, “Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to appoint Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Lt Gen Syed Asim Munir as the Chief of the Army Staff by exercising his constitutional authority.”

The names were shortlisted following the special federal cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister Office chaired by the prime minister.

The minister said a summary of these appointments has been sent to President Arif Alvi.

Who is Lt Gen Asim Munir?

Before he was nominated the army chief, he was serving as the Quartermaster General in the Pakistan Army.

Lt Gen Syed Asim Munir is the most senior officer in the Pakistan Army after outgoing Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, who is stepping down on November 29.

After graduating from the Officers Training School (OTS) in Mangla, Lt Gen Munir was commissioned into the 23rd Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment when he first joined the military.

As a brigadier, he was in charge of the forces that were part of Force Command Northern Areas. He reported to General Bajwa, who was the Commander of X Corps at the time.

Aside from this, he was given the position of Director General of Military Intelligence (MI) at the beginning of 2017, and then Director General (DG) of the ISI in October 2018.

After eight months, Lt Gen Munir was handed over the command of the Gujranwala Corps. Two years later, he was promoted to the position of Quartermaster General in the GHQ.

During his time posting in Saudi Arabia, he memorized the whole Quran, earning the title of “Hafiz-e-Quran”.

The 17th course of Officers Training School in Mangla bestowed the Sword of Honor to Lt Gen Munir.

Additionally, he has been honored with the Hilal-i-Imtiaz award.

His retirement date from service is November 27.