Pakistan has promoted army chief General Asim Munir to the rank of field marshal — mere days after a deadly clash with India. The decision was taken during a federal cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday.
According to a report by the Pakistan-based Geo News, the promotion had been approved for “ensuring the security of the country government approved the promotion of COAS Gen Munir to the rank of field marshal for ensuring the security of the country and defeating the enemy via best strategy and courageous leadership during Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos”. Pakistan has repeatedly claimed victory in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor — with Sharif recently praising the armed forces for mounting an “effective response” to alleged Indian aggression.
A statement from the PM’s office also confirmed that the promotion came “in recognition of the strategic brilliance and courageous leadership that ensured national security and decisively defeated the enemy”. A security official told Reuters that field marshal was a ceremonial five-star rank that usually signifies extraordinary leadership and wartime achievement.
Pakistani assertions of a decisive victory however appear to contradict ground reality — with fact-checks uncovering a barrage of misinformation over the past two weeks. High-resolution images collected by Maxar also outlined the damage inflicted on several Pakistani air bases during the four-day clash. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the Shehbaz Sharif government had sought a cessation of firing after 11 military sites in Pakistan were targeted by Indian forces.
“Once they got badly hit on the morning of May 10…The same people who were not willing to stand down on May 7 were willing to talk and stand down on May 10…It is clear wanted cessation of firing. The satellite pictures also show how much damage we did and what little damage they did,” he noted in the days following Operation Sindoor.
(With inputs from agencies)