Field Marshal Asim Munir was officially appointed as the first Chief of the Pakistan Defense Forces for a period of five years. At the same time, he will continue to hold the position of Chief of the General Staff.
President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday approved the summary submitted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who formally requested him to appoint Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Munir as Pakistan’s first CDF.
The President of Pakistan wished Munir all the best, the Presidency said.
About the post — CDF Pakistan
This comes a month after Pakistanand parliament passed the 27th constitutional amendment which provided for the creation of the CDF post.
The feature was created to improve coordination between the Army, Navy and Air Force and speed up decision-making in critical situations, news agency PTI reported.
The CDF replaced the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCSC), a position that was abolished.
The decision to issue a formal notification put to rest rumors of a delay in the appointment of the CDF, which had taken place since the retirement of the last CJCSC, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, on November 27.
The rise of Asim Munir
Asim Munir has come to the fore since the beginning of this year when Pakistan claimed to have defeated India in the four-day war. The Associated Press reported that Pakistan and India targeted each other’s military positions in tit-for-tat attacks in May after India struck targets in Pakistan’s Operation Sindoor that were linked to militants responsible for the massacre of 26 tourists in Kashmir.
“But both sides stepped back from the brink of war after US President Donald Trump said India and Pakistan had agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire,” the AP reported. Since then, a ceasefire has been in place between the two nuclear rivals.
Munir’s promotion comes months after Pakistan elevated him to the rank of field marshal, making him only the second military officer in the country’s history to hold the title. The first was General Ayub Khan, who led Pakistan during the 1965 war with India.
A law passed by parliament last month stipulates that Munir will remain in uniform for life and have immunity from arrest, a move that has drawn criticism from jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, who says giving Munir sweeping powers undermines democracy.
The military has historically held enormous sway in Pakistan, ruling it for half of the country’s history. Since 2001, when Pakistan became an ally of the United States in the war on terror, it has also been battling local and foreign militants, and militant attacks have killed thousands of people, including soldiers and police, since then, the report said.
The Air Force Chief of Staff also has a 2-year extension
President Zardari also approved a two-year extension in the service of Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu, Chief of Air Staff, with effect from the end of his current tenure on 19 March 2026.
