General Syed Asim Munir NI(M), HI(M)
سَیِد عاصم منیر
Official military portrait, 2022
11th Chief of the Army Staff
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 November 2022
President	Arif Alvi
Preceded by	Qamar Javed Bajwa
Preceding Commands Quartermaster General In office 6 October 2021 – 28 November 2022 President Arif Alvi Corps Commander Gujranwala In office 17 June 2019 – 6 October 2021 President Arif Alvi 23rd Director General of the ISI In office 25 October 2018 – 16 June 2019 President Arif Alvi Preceded by LTG Naveed Mukhtar Succeeded by LTG Faiz Hameed Director General Military Intelligence In office December 2016 – 24 October 2018 President Mamnoon Hussain Preceded by Major General Nadeem Zaki Manj Succeeded by Major General Sarfaraz Ali Commander Force Command Northern Areas In office October 2014 – December 2016 President Mamnoon Hussain Preceded by Major General Hafiz Masroor Ahmad Succeeded by Major General Saqib Mehmood Malik
Personal details
Born	1968 (age 55–56) Dheri Hassanabad, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Spouse	Syeda Irum Asim
Children	3
Parent	Syed Sarwar Munir Shah (father)
Education	Officers Training School, Mangla Pakistan Command and Staff College National Defence University, Pakistan Fuji School Japan Malaysian Armed Forces College[1]
Military service
Allegiance	Pakistan
Branch/service	Pakistan Army
Years of service	1986—Present
Rank	General
Unit	23 Frontier Force Regiment
Commands	Quartermaster General XXX Corps Inter-Services Intelligence Military Intelligence of Pakistan Force Command Northern Areas (FCNA) 23 Frontier Force Regiment
Battles/wars	Insurgency in Balochistan Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad War in North-West Pakistan
Awards	Nishan-e-Imtiaz Hilal-i-Imtiaz Sword of Honour (Pakistan)

Syed Asim Munir NI(M) (Urdu: سید عاصم منیر) is a Pakistani army general, the current Chief of Army Staff since 29 November 2022.^[2] Prior to becoming the army chief, he was posted at the GHQ as Quartermaster general.^[3] He commanded the XXX Corps in Gujranwala from 17 June 2019 to 6 October 2021.^[4] He served as the 23rd Director-General of the ISI until he was replaced with lieutenant general Faiz Hameed on 16 June 2019.^[5] Asim Munir was the recipient of the prestigious Sword of Honour for his excellent performance as a cadet in the Officers Training School, Mangla.^[6]

Early life and education

Munir was born into a Punjabi Syed family, with their roots lying in Jalandhar, Punjab, India, from where his parents migrated during Partition.^[7] They moved to Toba Tek Singh before settling down in Rawalpindi's Dheri Hassanabad, where they have been established for decades now. His late father, Syed Sarwar Munir, was the principal of the FG Technical High School, Lalkurti, Rawalpindi and the imam of a mosque, Masjid-al-Quraish, situated in a locality of Dheri Hassanabad, where he often delivered the Friday Khutbah sermon. Munir has two siblings, Syed Qasim Munir and Syed Hashim Munir. One of his brothers is a government school teacher.^[8]

Military career

Asim Munir is from the 17th course of the Officers Training School in Mangla. He was commissioned in the 23rd Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment. He started his military career on 25 April 1986.

As a Lieutenant Colonel, Asim Munir has served in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as part of close defence cooperation between Riyadh and Islamabad.^[9] He has also served at the Siachen Glacier. Brigadier Asim Munir, earlier was serving as the Chief of Staff of Pakistan's I Strike Corps Mangla. Brigadier Asim has also commanded an infantry brigade in Northern Areas. He was promoted as a Major-general in 2014 served as the commander of the Troops deployed in the Northern Areas of Pakistan in 2014 as the Force Commander North Areas (FCNA). Munir has also served as Director-General of Military Intelligence in 2016.^[10] He was awarded the Hilal-i-Imtiaz in March 2018.^[11] Asim Munir was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General in September 2018 and was subsequently appointed as DG ISI. In June 2019, Munir was replaced by Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed as the new DG ISI. Subsequently, Munir was appointed as Corps Commander of XXX Corps in Gujranwala in 2019.^[12] From 2021 to November 2022, Lt-General Asim was posted at GHQ as Quartermaster General of Pakistan Army. In November 2022, Lieutenant General Munir was promoted to the four-star General rank and was appointed as the Chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan Army. At the time of his appointment as COAS, Munir was the senior most lieutenant general of the Pakistani army. In December 2022, General Asim Munir received the Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military) award from President Arif Alvi. At the Aiwan-e-Sadr, the top military officials were given special investitures in front of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, diplomats, lawmakers, and federal ministers were present during the ceremony.^[13]

General Asim Munir is the only recipient of Sword of Honour who has risen to the position of army chief in the military history of Pakistan. Besides, he is the only army chief in the history of Pakistan who has earlier served as chief of both premier military intelligence agencies of Pakistan, namely, Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence.^[6]

General Asim Munir is the first Quartermaster General of Pakistan Army who has been elevated to the post of Chief of Army Staff. Munir is also first army chief who is not from PMA but OTS, Mangla.

On his appointment as COAS, Al-Jazeera described Munir as an officer with an “impeccable reputation”. While The Times of India described him as a "tough guy" for his hawkish attitude.^[14][15]

Personal life

Asim Munir is a Muslim, with Islam playing a key role in Munir’s life. He is described as a “deeply religious man”.^[16] Despite his affinity to Islam, he has stressed the need for combating against Islamic extremism, providing a safe nation for Pakistan’s religious minorities.^[17][18]

Munir's family are locally known as a hafiz family, as its many members are known to have memorised the entire Qu’ran by heart.^[19]

Asim Munir is a fitness enthusiast. He likes running, physical workout and sports. He is a keen book reader and traveller. Munir is fluent in Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi and English.^[20]

Munir graduated from the Fuji school, Japan, the Command and Staff College, Quetta, the Malaysian Armed Forces College, Kuala Lumpur and the National Defence University, Islamabad, where he earned his MPhil in Public Policy and Strategic Security Management.^[6]

Public image

Munir has been a polarising figure. He is applauded by some individuals for cracking down on dollar hoarding and smuggling,^[21] which strengthened the Pakistani rupee, causing it to be the world’s top-performing currency of September 2023.^[22] Additionally, he contributed in the setting up of the Special Investment Facilitation Council, which aims to bring billions of dollars of investment from overseas, especially the Gulf states,^[23] that are desperately needed amidst the 2022–2023 Pakistani economic crisis.

However, Munir is accused of intervening in civil politics,^[24] despite only being trusted with the nation’s security and defence. ^[25] Munir has also allegedly suppressed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf political movement in Pakistan led by Imran Khan. In the aftermath of May 9 riots, following the arrest of Imran Khan on corruption allegations, Asim Munir used military courts for civilians that rebelled against the army.^[26]

On May 20, 2023, Asim Munir announced that the “legal process of trial against planners, instigators, abettors and perpetrators involved in the May 9 tragedy has commenced under Pakistan Army Act and Official Secret Act”.^[27] Furthermore, Asim Munir exhorted army professionals to root out PTI inclined individuals.^[28] Human rights organizations raised the concerns that military trials lack the necessary safeguards and transparency, thereby exposing to the risk of potential miscarriages of justice.^[29][30] In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared the trial of civilians in military courts as null and void, thereby drawing a legal line between the civilian and military domain.^[31][32]

In addition, he has also been criticised for the deportation of illegal Afghan refugees, which he condones,^[33] despite their tough conditions.^[34]

Dates of promotion

Insignia	Rank	Date
	General, COAS	November 2022[2]
	Lieutenant General	September 2018[35]
	Major General	October 2014
	Brigadier
	Colonel
	Lieutenant Colonel
	Major
	Captain
	Lieutenant
	Second Lieutenant	April 1986

Awards and decorations

Foreign decorations

Foreign Awards

Turkey	Turkish Legion of Merit

References