New Delhi: Lieutenant General Asim Munir has been named as Pakistan’s new army chief, replacing incumbent General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pakistan’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting announced on Thursday. According to Tilak Devsher, a member of the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) and retired as Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Munir was among those in Pakistan who oversaw the 2019 Pulwama terror attack. “It was under his (Lt Gen Munir’s) watch that the Pulwama attack took place and he was DG ISI in November and this happened in February 2019. He also served in core areas that deal with or ignore Kashmir.” in India. So, he is very familiar with the area,” Devsher told ANI in an interview. Tensions escalated between India and Pakistan after the suicide attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives, took place in Jammu on February 14, 2019. His convoy was attacked on the Srinagar highway.
Lt Gen Munir is expected to take over as Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) from 61-year-old Bajwa, who is due to retire on November 29. On the impact of General Munir becoming Pakistan’s new army chief, Devsher said, “No army chief in Pakistan has been friendly towards India. So, Aseem Munir is not going to break the mold. He will take a tough stand towards India.” Will keep adopting.”
Devasher said, “If the problem escalates in Pakistan and they have experience. There is every possibility that India should be prepared that it is going to do this…and it has this on Pulwama. So, we have to be vigilant.” Is required.” Very careful on this particular score.” India is closely monitoring developments as the new Pakistani army chief is expected to discuss the government’s stance on Islamabad-New Delhi relations as well as Pakistan’s policies towards “all-weather allies” China and the United States. expected to influence.
Pakistan PM Shahbaz Sharif has decided to appoint Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza as Joint Chiefs of Staff and Lt Gen Syed Asim Munir as Chief of Army Staff: Maryam Aurangzeb, Pakistan Information and Broadcasting Minister pic.twitter.com/Wz5plST8lF– ANI (@ANI) November 24, 2022
Pakistan has recently been removed from the monitoring list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog. The country is also facing an extremely uncertain economic situation. According to experts, Pakistan has always resorted to terrorist attacks against India to keep the tension alive. “…they can’t afford to do anything against India, given India’s strong response in the past that if you do anything, we will kill you.” So, he (Lt Gen Munir) has to watch his steps very carefully. But, we certainly have to be very careful,” according to Devsher, who has written three books on Pakistan.
Lt Gen Munir has served as the Chief of Military Intelligence and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s spy agency. He served as the Chief of Military Intelligence for a period of 21 months from 2017. In October 2018, he became the Director General of ISI, but was removed from the post by Bajwa at the behest of the then Prime Minister Imran Khan. Notably, Khan earlier this year blamed the army for playing a role in his ouster.
According to Devasher, during the reign of the PML(N) government in Pakistan, four or five army chiefs were appointed without following seniority in the armed forces. “First time Sharif has appointed the senior-most in the hope that he made the mistake of not choosing the senior-most. Now he is choosing the senior-most, hoping things will go smooth. So, we will have to wait and It remains to be seen whether Sharif has better luck in appointing this army chief who is senior to him in the past.”
Earlier today, Pakistan’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Maryam Aurangzeb in a tweet confirmed the name of Lt Gen Munir for the post of COAS. He also announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Pakistan. Aurangzeb said in a tweet, “Exercising constitutional authority as Chief of Staff and Lieutenant General Syed Asim Munir. A summary of this has been sent to the President of Pakistan.” Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that it had received the summary for the appointment of the Chairman of the Staff Committee and the Chief of the Army Staff.