General Asim Munir, the current Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan, came into the limelight in May this year after he promoted himself to the rank of Field Marshal, becoming only the second person in Pakistan’s history after Ayub Khan to hold a five-star rank. His elevation drew sharp criticism, with many alleging it was an attempt to deflect public scrutiny following the Pakistan Army’s setbacks during Operation Sindoor against the Indian Armed Forces.
People mocked Munir, saying that he is the only Army Chief who went into a bunker during operations and alleged that his self-promotion to Field Marshal was a cover to avoid accountability.
Appointed as Pakistan’s Army Chief in November 2022, Munir is the first officer in the country’s history to have headed both premier intelligence agencies — Military Intelligence (MI) and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). A career officer who began his service in 1986 through the Officers Training School (OTS) in Mangla, he has commanded XXX Corps in Gujranwala and served in key administrative posts, including Quartermaster General at the General Headquarters (GHQ).
Jaish-e-Mohammed On General Munir
Recently, controversy erupted after Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) commander Ilyas Kashmiri claimed in a video message that it was General Munir himself who ordered senior army officers to attend the funerals of terrorists killed during India’s Operation Sindoor. According to Kashmiri, the directives came directly from Pakistan Army’s General Headquarters (GHQ), the central command center where top military leadership, including the Chief of Army Staff, is based. Kashmiri also said that GHQ instructed Corps Commanders to accompany the funeral processions in uniform and give slain militants a final salute — a move widely seen as evidence of Pakistan’s continued patronage of terror outfits.
Pakistan’s deep-rooted links with terror groups were further underlined when Ilyas Kashmiri claimed recalled how Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar, after his release during the IC-814 hijacking, was sheltered in Pakistan and allowed to run operations targeting India from Balakot.
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) Deputy Chief On Pakistan’s military
Meanwhile, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) Deputy Chief Saifullah Kasuri, also known as Khalid, revealed that Pakistan’s military and government helped rebuild the group’s Muridke headquarters after it was damaged in Indian air strikes.
Kasuri, accused of masterminding the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 pilgrims, is also linked to LeT’s proxy, The Resistance Front (TRF).
Operation Sindoor
India’s Operation Sindoor, conducted on May 6–7, was launched in retaliation for the Pahalgam massacre. As part of the operation, the Indian Armed Forces carried out precision air strikes on terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, destroying over nine facilities and crippling the core infrastructure of JeM and LeT. The strikes reportedly killed more than 100 militants.