आज का एक्सप्लेनर: आसिम मुनीर ने गुपचुप ‘तख्तापलट’ कर दिया; कैसे पाकिस्तान में सबसे ताकतवर बने, आखिर हासिल क्या करना चाहते हैं

According to Pakistani journalist Ijaz Syed, the family members wanted Asim to memorize the Quran. Munir studied in Madrasa till seventh standard and memorized the Quran. Then went to study at FG Technical School for a few days. After this he went to Sir Syed College of Rawalpindi, from where former Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa had studied.

Munir, fond of cricket, was a fast bowler during his college days. After school, Munir studied at Fuji School in Japan, Command and Staff College in Quetta and Armed Forces College in Malaysia.

After that he did Masters in Public Policy and Strategic Security Management from National Defense University, Islamabad.

Picture of Asim Munir during Officers Training School days.

Military career started in 1986, recited Quran again in Saudi

On 25 April 1986, Munir got his first posting in the 23rd Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment of the Pakistan Army.

When Munir became a Lieutenant Colonel, he was posted to the Pakistani Embassy in Saudi Arabia. There Munir realized that he was forgetting the Quran. In such a situation, he did not go home during holidays for 3 consecutive years and during this time he memorized the Quran again. After this Asim also stayed in Siachen Glacier.

Asim also spent a lot of time in Pakistan occupied Kashmir i.e. PoK. Then he reached the post of Major General in 2014, Director General of Military Intelligence of Pakistan in 2016 and Lieutenant General in September 2018.

Army Chief Munir (right) inspecting a single barrel rocket launcher near the border in PoK.

Munir remained ISI chief for only 8 months, quarrel with PM Imran proved costly

On 25 October 2018, Munir became DG of ISI. Just 8 months later, in June 2019, he was removed and Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed was made the new ISI DG. The reason behind this was Munir’s fight with Imran Khan.

Munir had exposed a case of corruption of Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi. Therefore, at the behest of Imran Khan, the then Army Chief Bajwa had shown Munir the way out of ISI.

The then Pak PM Imran Khan shaking hands with Munir on 30 August 2018.

When Imran was removed from the post of PM, Munir became the new Army Chief.

Munir remained Quartermaster General for about a year till November 2022. This is also a much smaller post than ISI Chief.

However, in the beginning of 2022, the political atmosphere of Islamabad started changing. On April 10, Imran was removed from the post of PM by bringing a no-confidence motion. The very next day, Shehbaz Sharif, leader of Nawaz Sharif’s faction Muslim League and Nawaz’s younger brother, became PM. Munir was close to Shahbaz. It is believed that Munir internally supported the tactics used to remove Imran from power.

Munir also got its ‘return gift’. On 29 November, Bajwa was removed and Munir was made the new Army Chief. Munir became the first Army Chief, who had been the Chief of both the intelligence agencies of Pakistan – ISI and Military Intelligence.

After Munir became the Army Chief, Imran had accused the Pakistan Army of toppling his government. This picture of Munir on the truck is from August 2023, when Imran was sent to jail.

Now Munir is the first Army Chief who holds 3 posts simultaneously – apart from Army Chief, the military rank of Field Marshal and the most powerful new post – CDF.

Question-3: What does Asim Munir want to achieve? answer: Asim Munir wants to establish himself as a ruler for whom no threat or challenge can arise. Munir has made this shield for himself in 3 ways….

1. The present government is helpless in front of Munir.

• Think tanks like the Center of Peace Studies and Britain’s Chatham House say that the military-government ‘hybrid democracy’ in Pakistan has been ended. Power has gone into the hands of Munir. Now he is the ‘De-Facto Ruler’ of Pakistan.
• Farzana Shaikh, Associate Fellow of Chatham House’s Asia-Pacific Programme, says, ‘Parties in Pakistan have been supporting the army for the sake of gain, but now the two main ruling parties PPP and PML-N have bowed down like never before. Forget democracy, these constitutional amendments give Munir free rein, which is extremely dangerous.
• Proof of this was found when the Pakistani Cabinet approved the Defense Forces Act and took it to the National Assembly for passing. PPP ostensibly opposed it, but immediately voted in support. The bill was passed in just 30 minutes.
• Reports said that President Zardari immediately signed it because no one keeps Munir waiting in Pakistan.

2. Difficult to remove Asim through elections

• Even if the main opposition party, PTI led by jailed former PM Imran, wins the upcoming elections, Munir is still legally safe. The Constitution will have to be amended to remove him from the post of CDF. For this, two-thirds majority is required in the Parliament.
• Mahmood Khan Achakzai, president of TTAP, a coalition of opposition parties, says, ‘There is no constitution, no judiciary in Pakistan now. A man has been made king. This constitutional amendment is a crime against the country.

Imran Khan, who was in jail for 3 years, appeared before the Supreme Court through video conferencing in May 2024. No one has seen him since then.

3. Army also controls the courts through the government

• Under the 27th amendment, the structure of Pakistan’s judiciary will also change. Now the government will create a Constitutional Court, which will hear constitutional matters. The Supreme Court is also under this.
• In protest against this, two senior judges of the Supreme Court – Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah have resigned. Shah said- ‘The Supreme Court alone had control over the government and the army, which has now been abolished.’

Question-4: What happened to the old military dictators of Pakistan? answer: Previous military dictators resigned, were arrested or had to flee leaving everything behind….

1. General Ayub Khan: On 27 October 1958, President Iskander Mirza was overthrown. Mirza had to flee to England and Ayub himself became President. Ayub Khan’s bad days started after the defeat by India in the 1965 war. He had to resign in March 1969.

2. General Yahya Khan: General Yahya Khan became President by imposing martial law. In 1971, Pakistan was defeated in the India-Pakistan war and Bangladesh was born. Yahya had to resign in December 1971 after severe humiliation. The new government put him under house arrest. He died anonymously in 1980.

3. General Zia-ul-Haq: Army Chief Zia overthrew PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1977. Later, a murder case was registered against Bhutto and he was hanged in 1979. Zia ruled Pakistan for the longest time. He died in a plane crash on 17 August 1988.

4. General Pervez Musharraf: On October 12, 1999, Musharraf became President by overthrowing PM Nawaz Sharif. Nawaz was put in jail. Later he fled to Saudi Arabia. There were protests against Musharraf, he also imposed emergency, ultimately he had to resign in August 2008. They fled to Dubai and then London. In 2019, he received death sentence in a treason case. He died in Dubai in February 2023.

Musharraf was the President of Pakistan from 20 June 2001 to 18 August 2008. It is being said that Munir has carried out the coup in a constitutional manner by taking a lesson from Musharraf’s fate.

Question-5: Is there any danger to India if Munir comes to power? answer: Munir’s stance is completely anti-India…

• A week before the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on 22 April 2025, Munir had said, ‘We are different from Hindus in every sense. Our religion, culture, customs, thoughts, ambitions are all different. Due to this the two-nation theory was created. We are two different countries.
• On April 15, 2025, he called Kashmir the jugular vein of Pakistan and said – We will never forget it. It is believed that after this speech, Pahalgam attack took place in India on the instigation of Munir.
• After Operation Sindoor, Munir had said, ‘Pakistan is a nuclear country. If we fall, we will take half the world with us. If India tries to build a dam on the Indus River, we will protect our water at all costs.
• On 5 February 2025, he said- Pakistan has fought three wars for Kashmir and if needed, will fight 10 more wars.

On August 7, 2026, a defense deal was signed between Pakistan, Saudi and Turkey. Under this, an attack on any one country will be considered an attack on all three countries. Pakistan has been made the first General Secretary General of this pact. With the increase in powers, it will become easier for Asim Munir to work on his anti-India agenda. This may be a cause of concern for India.

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