SNE NETWORK.CHANDIGARH.
Amid the growing military tension between India and Pakistan, Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir is once again in the headlines. But very few people know that Munir, who has become the face of anti-India policy, has family ties with Jalandhar district of Punjab, India.
General Munir’s father Syed Sarwar lived in Jalandhar before the partition and went to Pakistan during the partition of 1947. When India-Pakistan was divided in 1947, communal riots broke out in the whole of Punjab.
General Munir’s father Syed Sarwar Munir lived with his family in Toba Tek Singh district of Pakistan Punjab for some time, then he settled in Dheri Hasanabad area of Rawalpindi. He was a teacher in Rawalpindi and also used to do Imamat in a mosque.
Strengthened himself in the army
General Asim Munir is one of the few officers of the Pakistan Army who has memorized the entire Quran Sharif, that is, he is a Hafiz-e-Quran. He gave this proof when he was posted as a Pakistani military officer in Saudi Arabia.
Munir entered the Pakistani Army through the Officer Training School (OTS), which is considered an alternative and less prestigious route compared to the Pakistan Military Academy. Despite this, he continuously progressed in the army and is now counted among the most powerful persons of Pakistan.
Experience in intelligence agencies
Munir is the first army chief of Pakistan to have led both the intelligence agencies, Military Intelligence (MI) and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). After being appointed as the ISI chief in 2018, within nine months, he informed Imran Khan about the alleged corrupt activities of his wife Bushra Bibi, due to which he was removed from the post prematurely. He avenged that insult by becoming the army chief after Imran’s ouster from power in 2022. He then sent Imran to jail in several corruption cases.
Know what is the main threat to India
General Munir’s attitude towards India has been aggressive and tough from the beginning. He was the ISI chief during the Pulwama attack of 14 February 2019 and now he is accused of masterminding the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir on 22 April 2025, in which 25 tourists and 1 local person lost their lives.
Under Munir’s leadership, Pakistan suspended the 1972 Shimla Agreement against India and has also taken a tough stand on the Indus Water Treaty (IWT).
Tough governance and increasing power
After becoming the army chief, Munir has established control over political, judicial and economic institutions. He created the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) through which the army is directly interfering in foreign investment and the economy.
By making amendments in the Parliament, Munir got the seniority system of judges changed and got his term as army chief extended from 3 to 5 years. Now he will remain the army chief till 2027 and the possibility of further extension is open.
Spread of Jihadi ideology
In a public meeting in Peshawar, Munir openly said that “we are doing jihad in the path of Allah” and the aim of the army is “either to be martyred or to become a Ghazi”. Due to this statement of Munir, international analysts have given him the title of ‘Jihadi General’.
Strategy of ‘K2 Operation’ against India
Experts believe that under the leadership of Munir, Pakistani intelligence agency ISI is running ‘K2 Operation’ – in which there is a plan to destabilize Kashmir and Khalistan. On one hand, terrorist attacks are taking place in Kashmir, on the other hand, efforts are being made to spoil the atmosphere in Punjab through drugs and gang war.
Trying to garner international support
Munir also plans to mobilize military equipment and political support from the US, China and Turkey. He tried to win the trust of the Trump government by handing over the ISIS-K commander to the US. Pakistan has recently purchased modern military technologies from China and Türkiye.