• The promotion of General Munir to the five -star rank ratings first in more than six decades
• Terms of the Honor Field Marshal ‘Tribute to all the Armed Forces and the people of Pakistan’
• ACM SIDHU becomes the first air chief to receive second extension
• Ex Generals Pesee New Role of the Vice President of Staff of the Army for the Four Star General
Islamabad: The Government promoted the head of the Army personnel on Tuesday, GEN also, to the range of field marshal in recognition of its ‘strategic leadership and its decisive role’ in the defeat of India in the conflict that began earlier this month after Pahalgam incident in India occupied by India.
“The Pakistan government has approved the promotion of General Syed also Munir (Nishan-E-Iimtiaz, military) to the field marshal range in recognition of its superior strategy and its brave brave leadership … (e) inflicted a decisive defeat about the enemy,” reads a statement.
The elevation, first authorized by the federal cabinet and then communicated by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to President Asif Ali Zardari, marks the first promotion of this type in more than six decades. Pakistan had a field marshal in 1959, when Ayub Khan, the then military ruler, the five -star title was awarded.
Shortly after the announcement, Prime Minister Shehbaz posted on X, previously Twitter, saying: “Under his command, our brave armed forces firmly defended the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan with unity, courage and the highest standards of military professionalism.”
The Munir Marshal, who has served as Chief of the Army since November 2022, accepted the elevation, saying, according to a statement issued by public relations between services (ISPR), which was not a personal honor but a tribute to all the armed forces and the people of Pakistan.
Second extension for the air chief
The Government also announced an open second extension in the mandate of the Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu.
Its current extension, granted last year, expires in March. It becomes the first PAF chief to receive two extensions, a measure that underlines the central role it played in the successful execution of the Bunyanum Marsoos operation from May 7 to 10. “The government has also unanimously decided to extend the mandate of the head of air Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu at the end of its current term,” said a PM office statement.
Implications for military hierarchy
The promotion of the Munir Marshal has triggered generalized speculations about its implications for the Pakistan Superior Defense Organization (HDO), which includes the Joint Committee of the Chiefs of General Staff (JCSC), headed by its president, and the three heads of service (army, navy, air force).
Although the five-star title is largely ceremonial, questions have also been raised about its impact on civil-military balance, the operational command chain and the future of the defense leadership.
In a symbolic gesture, the president of the President’s Chief of Personnel, the Sahir Shamshad Mirza Gen, issued a congratulation message, which analysts considered as pointing out that he would continue in his current role, despite being technically Junior to a five -star chief of service.
Among the officers and retired military analysts, the opinions are divided. The retired Lieutenant Naeem Khalid Lodhi, former Secretary of Defense and National Defense Security Advisor, anticipated the creation of a chief of defense personnel (CDS) proposed for a long time ago, a concept floated for the first time during the previous mandate of Nawaz Sharif. According to this structure, Coas Munir could serve as much as CA and CD, even more consolidating his authority, he believed.
On the contrary, Lieutenant Retired Asif Yasin Malik, also former Secretary of Defense, minimized the perspectives of any structural change. “The range of the field marshal is ceremonial,” he said, adding that the COA followed the most powerful operational position within the military hierarchy. “CDS is a coordinating role, not a command authority,” said Mr. Yasin, suggesting that the existing configuration would remain intact.
However, both foresee the creation of a position of the Vice President of the General Staff of the Army for a four -star general.
Legal and constitutional ambiguities
The promotion has also revived debates on the legal foundations of the field marshal in Pakistan, and some experts indicate the silence of the Constitution and the Pakistan army law on such an appointment.
Article 243 grants the President the authority to appoint service chiefs about the Prime Minister’s Council, but does not mention the five -star ranks. The 2024 amendment to the Army Law extended the possession of the COAS at five years and eliminated the retirement age limits for four -star generals.
However, a notification of the Ministry of Defense said the promotion had been carried out under the 199A rule of army regulations (rules) 1998. The rules are classified, but according to a military source, the aforementioned rule says: “199-A. Promotion to the Marshal of the Field. A general official, whether it serves or retires, can promote the range of Marshal de Camp Specific “.
The military law expert retired Colonel Inamur Raheem, when he contacted for the verification of the secret rules, confirmed the drafting of the 199A rule.
A strategic signal
Although the range does not grant additional operational authority, its confermentation during an increased regional tension period involves strategic and political symbolism. It can also reinforce the position of the Munir field marshal both within the army and in political circles, particularly in the midst of continuous internal instability and civil-military friction.
Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, who previously headed the Senate Defense Committee, said that “the field marshal also is now in the driving seat, since the axis of the power structure, more The Asia, all the political forces of the race were convinced to the forces of the inflection that were convinced to Pakistan, for India and for the south of the Asia, all the forces of the Mena career were convinced to the forces of inflection to the inflection.
The columnist and political analyst Abbas Nasir, while commenting on the political angle of the promotion, said: “Regarding its domestic impact, when the weapon jumped without evidence after Pahalgam’s terrorist attack, the Modi government gave Pakistan a considerable amount of unity as the country recovered behind the armed forces, leaving aside the internal political differences, disappointments.”
“Let’s see if national reconciliation is possible as a result of this gift from heaven or if the country will return to the square,” he worried.
Mr. Nasir, while commenting on the measure, said: “One expects worldwide governments and the media, which looked like scripts of Pakistan and India after years of aligning behind India and seemed to buy to a large extent the opinion of Islamabad, does not consider this a movement not still or worse belligerent.”
Global context
The only precedent of Pakistan for this movement is Ayub Khan, whose elevation of 1959 to the field of field marshal occurred in the middle of his presidency and did not restructure the Armed Forces. In the same way, the promotion of Coas Munir alters the operating command, but serves as a symbolic recognition of its leadership in times of war.
The global precedent supports this opinion. In India, Field Marshals Sam Manekshaw (1973) and Km Cariappa (1986) were promoted purely for ceremonial reasons, without changes in the structure of the army. Similarly, in the United Kingdom and the United States, five -star titles have historically honored an extraordinary service during the main wars without altering command frames.
Posted in Dawn, May 21, 2025
