General Asim Munir Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Asim Munir

• Asim Munir is the Chief of the Pakistan Army, who replaced General Qamar Javed Bajwa as the 11th Chief of the Army Staff on 29 November 2022.

• Asim Munir joined the 17th Officers Training Course at Officers Training School (OTS) in Mangla. After completing his training at OTS in 1986, he was commissioned into the 23rd Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment as a Second Lieutenant.
  

  A photograph of Asim Munir taken at OTS when he was undergoing training

• After Asim Munir received a promotion and became a major, he served in an infantry brigade of the Pakistan Army as a Brigade Major (BM).

• Asim was later appointed to another infantry brigade as a General Staff Officer-II (GSO-II).

• During his tenure as a Lieutenant Colonel in Medina, Saudi Arabia, Asim received the title of “Hafiz-e-Quran” for memorizing the Islamic holy book Quran.

• Asim commanded his unit, 23 Frontier Force after he received a promotion and became a Colonel.

• Asim later became the Force Commander of the Northern Areas (FCNA) as a Major General and served under the then X Corps Commander Qamar Javed Bajwa.
  

  Asim Munir addressing the media during his tenure as the Force Commander of the Northern Areas (FCNA)

• After completing his tenure as the Force Commander in December 2016, Munir became the Director-General of Military Intelligence (DGMI). He served as DGMI till October 2018.

• Munir became a Lieutenant General in the Pakistan Army on 28 September 2018.

• In October 2018, General Qamar Javed Bajwa appointed Asim Munir as the Director-General of Pakistan’s intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Asim remained the DG of ISI until Prime Minister Imran Khan had him removed from his post in June 2019 after Asim reportedly collected proof of corruption against Imran’s wife, Bushra Bibi. Asim was the DG of ISI when the attack on CRPF took place in February 2019 in Pulwama, which resulted in the death of 40 soldiers. Asim was replaced by Lt Gen Faiz Hameed.

• Asim Munir assumed the command of the Gujranwala-based XXX Corps as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) on 17 June 2019. He served as a GOC till October 2021.
  

  A photo of Asim Munir (left) taken when he was handing over the command of XXX Corps to Lt Gen Aamer

• Later, Asim was posted to Rawalpindi, where he was appointed as the Quartermaster General (QMG) at the General Headquarters (GHQ).

• The President of Pakistan approved Lt Gen Asim Munir’s appointment as the 11th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) on 24 November 2022. The office of the President of Pakistan issued a notification which said,
  

  President Alvi has promoted Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza HI(M) to the rank of General with immediate effect and appointed him as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee with effect from November 27, 2022. The above said promotions and appointments were made under the article 243(4) (a) and (b) and the Article 48(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan read with Sections 8-A and 8-D of the Pakistan Army Act 1952.”

  

  A photo of Asim Munir with President Alvi

  Reacting to the government’s selection of Asim as the next COAS, Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) stated that under General Asim’s leadership, the Pakistan Army should focus on battling external threats. It further said that the army should stay away from domestic politics and must allow the democratic functioning of Pakistan. It further said,

  We hope that the new leadership of the armed forces of Pakistan will play its constitutional role so constitutional rights and democracy in the country are strengthened and people’s rights to elect a new leadership through fresh elections, would be recognised. The people of Pakistan also expect that the Pakistani armed forces, while dealing with external threats, would stay out of the politics of domestic affairs. A Pakistani citizen also expects that the rights of political parties will not be infringed after the appointment of Lt. General Asim Munir by anyone.”

  Asim Munir’s retirement from the Pakistan Army was due on 27 November 2022; however, the government postponed his retirement as he was a top contender among six other contenders for the post of Army Chief. Munir became the first Army Chief of Pakistan, who held the post of both DGMI and DG ISI. Munir is also the first COAS who received the coveted Sword of Honour during the passing out parade at OTS, Mangla. ^[4]The News International

• As a Pakistan Army officer, Munir has attended several military courses in military institutes like JGSDF Fuji School in Japan, Command and Staff College in Quetta, Malaysian Armed Forces Defence College (MAFDC) in Kuala Lumpur, and National Defence University (NDU) in Islamabad.

• Munir has also held the appointment of CGS Secretariat and Chief of Staff of Mangla Corps. He was also a part of the Directing Staff in the Command and Staff College in Quetta, Balochistan.

• As an officer, Munir has gained plenty of combat experience through his participation in counter-insurgency operations in Balochistan and North-West Pakistan. He has also participated in Radd-ul-Fasaad, a counter-terrorism operation undertaken by the Pakistan Army in different parts of Pakistan.

• Under the guidance of Hafiz Khalil Ahmed, a late Islamic preacher, Munir completed his Islamic studies.