General Asim Munir on Tuesday took over as the new Chief of Army Staff (COAS) at a ceremony held at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. Outgoing COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa passed the baton of command to General Asim Munir, making the latter the country’s 17th army chief. General Asim Munir was selected by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to succeed General Qamar Javed Bajwa last week, ending days of speculation over the appointment. General Asim Munir will be the 17th army chief to assume the command of the Pakistan Army.

Prior to the ceremony, both General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Gen Munir laid a wreath at the Yadgar-i-Shuhada (Monument to Martyrs) in GHQ and offered fateha. The ceremony, which began shortly after 10am, kicked off with the GHQ military band performing national songs and a medley of folk tunes. Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, senior serving and retired officers, diplomats as well as government functionaries are in attendance.

Addressing the ceremony prior to handing over the baton of command to Gen Munir, the outgoing COAS said he was thankful for being given the opportunity to lead the Pakistan Army. Gen Bajwa congratulated Gen Asim Munir on being appointed his successor and hoped his promotion would be a cause for the progress of the country and the army. He went on to say that his association with Gen Munir goes back 24 years.

“In addition to being a Hafiz-i-Quran, he is a professional, capable and principled officer. I am certain that under his leadership the army will reach new heights of success.” General Qamar Javed Bajwa said he is honored to have served this great Army. He said during his six year tenure as the Army Chief, Pakistan Army tackled challenges be it the situation on the line of control, terrorism or the natural calamities. General Qamar Javed Bajwa said he is proud of Pakistan Army that despite limited resources it is fulfilling the responsibility of defending each nook and corner of the country.

He said Pakistan today is abode of peace because of our sacrifices which are also acknowledged both by our foe and friends. It is worth mentioned here that Gen Asim Munir was commissioned in the 23rd Frontier Force Regiment in 1986. He passed out with the 17th Officers Training course, Mangla and was awarded the coveted sword of honour. He is currently posted as the quartermaster general at the General Headquarters.

The army chief-designate graduated from Fuji school Japan, Command and Staff College, Quetta, Malaysian Armed Forces College, Kuala Lumpur and National Defence University, Islamabad. He also has done M. Phil in Public Policy and Strategic Security Management from the National Defence University. The quartermaster general was also posted as a directing staff at the Command and Staff College, Quetta, brigade major of a deployed infantry brigade in Kel, general staff officer, grade-2, CGS secretariat and chief of staff of Mangla corps.

Gen Munir has commanded 23rd Frontier Force Regiment, Infantry Brigade, remained as a force commander in Northern Areas, Gilgit and Corps Commander 30 Corps, Gujranwala. The incoming army chief has also served as DG Military Intelligence. In 2018, Gen Munir was appointed as director-general of the Inter-Services Intelligence. Following this, he was posted as corps commander Gujranwala for two years.

After heading the Gujranwala corps he was posted at his present assignment at the GHQ. Gen Munir will become the first army chief who has headed both — the MI and the ISI. The army chief designate is a keen sportsman, avid reader, and traveller. The ceremony was attended amongst others by federal cabinet members, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Air Chief Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu, high ranking civil and military officials and foreign delegates.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP