Field Marshal Munir a Crafty Man in Guise of Army Dress
Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan. In Pakistan, however, failure is celebrated. In Pakistan, a country of stupidity where military generals rule and civilian representatives are feared, the elevation of General Syed Asim Munir to Field Marshal is less a testimony to his ability and more a coronation of disorder. This not only indicates the army's dominance there, but it is also a testimony to its dominance in Pakistan.
Shehbaz Sharif's cabinet decided to give Munir the title of Field Marshal after India's Operation Sindoor under which precise action was taken against terrorist camps and airbases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. In response, Pakistan's operation was not only ineffective, but ended up in a ceasefire. In this sense, the reason for Munir's promotion seems to be more than bravery in the war zone, but more of a failed country's alleged valour and the false arrogance of the army.
Munir's elevation tells the story of Pakistan's field marshals. It also speaks volumes about Munir's jealous ideology and the military's tendency to constantly suppress civilian rule. It tells about the Pak Army's frontiers against India. It raises serious questions about the political and strategic fallout of Munir's rise, highlights his fragile relationship with the US establishment, and highlights the difference between Pakistan's gradual failure vis-à-vis India. The last instance of the Pakistan Army Chief being promoted to the rank of Field Marshal was seen in 1959, when General Ayub Khan himself gave this title.
However, the decision to make Munir a field marshal is not merely symbolic, it is an example of a civilian regime putting itself behind the military establishment. There seems to be a serious pattern behind the promotion Munir has received. Since 1947, Pakistan has tolerated dictators – be it Yahya Khan, Zia-ul-Haq or Pervez Musharraf. Munir is the latest example of this, who, like his predecessors, jails opponents, sills the media and rules through arbitrary laws. This year, the Supreme Court's decision allowed civilians to be tried under military laws is not only a violation of the Constitution, but an example of bloodshed of the Constitution.
Munir is not just a general, he is a jihadi in military uniform. Born in 1968 to a family that migrated from Jalandhar to Pakistan, Munir has distinguished himself as a man who possesses the Quran and will go to any lengths to achieve his wishes, first as the ISI chief and then as the army chief, he has shown a mixed pattern of religious nationalism and institutional autocracy. His bigotry has continued to grow. Last month, while delivering a speech at a mosque in Rawalpindi, he described Kashmir as the "jugular vein" of Pakistan. It was only after his speech that the Pahalgam terror attack was carried out. At the time of the inauguration of the Kartarpur Corridor in 2019, Munir is said to have warned that Sikh pilgrims could be Indian agents.
In 2023, at a madrassa in Balochistan, he appealed to students to pick up both the pen and the sword in honour of Pakistan. Pakistan's history is replete with tragic accounts of the military toppling elected civilian governments. The coup d'état by Ayub Khan in 1958, Zia-ul-Haq's Islamic militarism and Pervez Musharraf's modern authoritarianism – all these reveal the Pakistani army's disdain for democracy.
Pakistan has and is still paying a heavy price for strengthening the military apparatus. Pakistan's civilian regime has deliberately lost its land to military supremacy. The elevation of General Munir to Field Marshal is not just appeasement, in the political sense it is abdication of regime or making his authority inferior to the military apparatus.
Imran Khan's PTI was so suppressed that today it is powerless. Domestically, Pakistan's situation is miserable. In 2024, its GDP fell to $338 billion from $376 billion two years earlier. Inflation is 30 per cent, while one dollar is equivalent to 300 Pakistani rupees. More than 40 per cent of the people are below the poverty line, while foreign exchange reserves have fallen to 8 billion dollars and unemployment is around 8 per cent. In comparison, India's GDP stood at $ 3.9 trillion in 2024, which is expected to cross $ 4.2 trillion in 2025. Our foreign exchange reserves are over $700 billion, while inflation is below 5 per cent. In 2024, Pakistan, dependent on the IMF's bailout of $7 billion, allocated 16 per cent of its budget to the defence sector, proportionately more than double the amount allocated by India for the defence sector. Munir's military mission suggests that this policy of Pakistan will continue. Development has been stalled, democracy has been crushed and dissent has been suppressed. The result has been horrible. Munir has a crown of thorns on his head. Its speeches script the conflict, its principles leave diplomacy in a blind alley, and its progress has destroyed even the slightest hope of peace with India.
If Munir increases his strength, Pakistan will turn into a military system. India's effective military action and Prime Minister Modi's diplomatic initiative have taken the air out of Munir's bravado, in such a way that the dream of waging jihad of the Field Marshal is taking him to a situation where there will be no one to save his sinking ship.