Lt. Gen. Munir assumes command as the government faces pressure to call new elections from former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was toppled in April by his rivals. Pakistan’s army has a significant impact on the nation’s politics and foreign policy. With exports declining and food prices rising, Pakistan is likewise experiencing an economic crisis. Lt Gen Munir will be in charge of the army and will have direct input on future ties with both the Afghan Taliban administration and the nation’s neighbor, India.
Lt Gen Munir has avoided controversy and kept a quiet profile for years, thus nothing is known about his opinions on Pakistan’s most pressing issues, such as civil-military relations and connections to India, Afghanistan, the US, and China. He had, however, held a number of important positions in the military, suggesting that the senior administrators had been preparing him for the leadership position.
Policy in India
According to some commentators, Pakistan’s internal political and economic problems will keep the new army chief occupied and distracted from India. Others, on the other hand, view Munir as a hardliner who might adopt a more uncompromising stance toward India than Bajwa did.
This opinion is supported, among other things, by Munir’s lack of experience at military training academies in the US or the UK, as opposed to his three immediate predecessors, Generals Kayani, Sharif, and Bajwa. Analysts claim that Pakistani military officers who graduate from foreign military academies view the world more broadly than those who receive their training at home. Munir is regarded by New Delhi as being close to the regime despite having served in conservative Saudi Arabia, according to The Times of India.
Religious inclination
General Asim Munir, the head of the Pakistani army, is reputed to be a “Hafiz-e-Quran,” which means he has memorized the holy book. There is no evidence that he has ties to Pakistan’s seminaries, radical or otherwise, despite the local media portraying his personal religious preferences as a pride for Pakistan in the Islamic world.
News Mania Desk
