Gen Asim Munir’s role in the on-going tussle between Sharif-led coalition government and former PM Khan will be keenly watched. It also remains to be seen whether he will continue with the ‘dovish’ approach adopted by his predecessor, Gen Bajwa towards India, writes Riyaz Wani
With the appointment of the new Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir, his predecessor General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s contentious six-year tenure has come to an end. The latter’s last year as chief will always be remembered for the ouster of Imran Khan as prime minister and the political turmoil that followed it culminating in an assassination attempt on Khan.
The turmoil still prevails in Pakistan and it would be interesting to see how General Munir would seek to resolve it. And whether he would act neutral in the true sense of the term amid the on-going tussle between the current coalition government and Khan, who is currently leading a march against the government.
To predict General Munir’s future moves won’t be easy but knowing where he comes from would certainly help. General Munir has been a close aide of Gen Bajwa ever since he commanded troops in the Force Command Northern Areas as a brigadier under the outgoing army chief, who was then Commander X Corps.
He was later appointed Military Intelligence director general in early 2017, and in October next year was made the Inter-Services Intelligence chief.
However, his stint as the top intelligence officer turned out to be the shortest ever, as he was replaced by Lt Gen Faiz Hamid within eight months, on the insistence of the then Prime Minister, Imran Khan. So General Munir is expected to be not sympathetic to Khan and rather be more inclined to continue supporting Shahbaz Sharif’s government. But under the circumstances, when Khan has emerged as the most popular Pakistani leader, such an approach would mean continuing instability in the country in the run up to next year’s national election. Khan, who sees his ouster as part of a regime-change conspiracy encouraged by the United States, has been demanding an early election.
However, beyond what General Asim does to resolve Pakistan’s ongoing turmoil, it would be interesting to see his approach towards India and also vis-a-vis the situation in Kashmir. During Bajwa’s term in office, Pakistan largely exercised restraint in its dealings with India. This despite the fact his term witnessed the 2019 Pulwama attack that killed over 40 security personnel leading to the first aerial dogfight between the two neighbours in 48 years. Earlier in 2016, Pakistan didn’t respond when India carried out a surgical strike across the LoC.
