Pakistan's army chief, holding the rank of field marshal—only the second officer of that rank since Ayub Khan, Pakistan's first dictator. He is 57 years old. The son of an imam, he was educated in a madrasa and can recite the Koran by heart. He is the first Pakistani army chief not to have trained in America or Britain. He prays five times daily but, according to those who meet him regularly, does not "apply spirituality to statecraft". He admires the modernisation drive of Saudi Arabia's Muhammad bin Salman. He can be vindictive and has a temper, especially when talking about Imran Khan, who as prime minister sacked him as intelligence chief.
He described Kashmir as Pakistan's "jugular vein" in a speech on April 16th 2025, invoking the idea that Hindus and Muslims could not co-exist in one nation. Considered more powerful and ideologically driven than his predecessor, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who handled the 2019 India-Pakistan stand-off. He is the most powerful army chief since Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999. His appetite for risk is greater than Bajwa's, who favoured quiet—and ultimately fruitless—diplomacy with India. Even some critics credit him with resisting foreign pressure not to respond to India's initial air strikes in May 2025.
He was promoted to field marshal in May 2025. His current term as army chief expires in 2027, though there is no term limit or mandatory retirement age. He has a co-operative and able prime minister and, if the current political compact endures, can remain indefinitely. Pakistan's military-backed civilian government now has the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed to alter the constitution, after a controversial reallocation of seats. That has ignited rumours that he could become president too, opening a fourth period of military rule since independence in 1947. Imran Khan, the ex-prime minister, argued from prison that Pakistan was not under martial law but "Asim law". The counter-argument is that the current "hybrid" leadership works in his favour: a more overt power grab might fuel support for Khan, including in the armed forces.
The mutual-defence pact between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed on September 17th 2025 is likely to have been spearheaded by Munir. Saudi and Pakistani officials say the deal had been in the works for more than a year, but it was probably accelerated by Israel's strikes on Doha and Iran's earlier missiles at an American air base there. The pact could mean Pakistan using its approximately 170 nuclear warheads to deter attacks on Saudi Arabia. Part of Munir's pitch to Trump has been that Pakistan could be a stronger player in the Middle East, potentially supporting American efforts in the region.
In June 2025 he was hosted for lunch at the White House by Donald Trump, meeting Trump alone without members of Pakistan's civilian government. They discussed Iran and cryptocurrency deals that Pakistani interests were offering figures in Trump's inner circle. He had earlier called for Trump to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for ending the India-Pakistan conflict. The commander of America's Central Command, General Michael Kurilla, described Pakistan as a "phenomenal" counter-terrorism partner, noting Pakistani forces had targeted leaders of ISIS-Khorasan. He has sparked interest from Trump associates in Pakistan's crypto and mining sectors. He has positioned Pakistan as a potential means to advance America's interests with Iran and its efforts to get more Muslim countries to establish diplomatic ties with Israel.
Trump announced that America plans to help Pakistan exploit oil and mineral reserves and gloated that "one day" India might have to buy energy from its neighbour. In return, America has toned down criticism of Pakistan's programme to build longer-range ballistic missiles. It has resumed some aid programmes and is considering selling weaponry, including armoured vehicles and night-vision goggles, to help Pakistan combat local insurgents.
After Iran and Pakistan exchanged missile strikes in 2024, Munir opened communications with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, laying the groundwork for his later role as mediator. Trump calls him his "favourite field-marshal". In the 2026 Gulf war Munir led Pakistan's mediation effort, co-ordinating with Trump, J.D. Vance and Iranian contacts via Pakistan's intelligence service. On April 8th 2026 his efforts yielded a two-week ceasefire and a commitment to face-to-face talks in Islamabad; the ceasefire was later extended indefinitely. Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, credited the truce to the "tireless efforts" of Shehbaz Sharif and Munir. He subsequently spent three days in Tehran—the first high-profile visitor since the bombing stopped—meeting senior political and military leaders.
Those who have watched his rapid rise describe him as sharp, wily, ruthless and ambitious. Thanks to constitutional chicanery, he is thought to have secured his position for a decade, perhaps longer. His dream is to elevate the world's fifth-most-populous country and its only Muslim nuclear power to what he sees as its rightful place in the international order. An investment council he chairs has yielded little.
No one in Pakistan doubts that Munir—not Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister—is calling the shots. He has tilted Pakistan's hybrid system even further towards military control; one insider suggests that only a façade of civilian government remains. In the past Pakistan's generals preferred to wield power from behind the stage, letting politicians face the wrath of voters; Munir has put himself front and centre.
He has warned opposition parties not to hold protests over soaring fuel prices. Imran Khan, a former prime minister, sits in solitary confinement. Hundreds more have been locked up, according to opposition parties. The PTI, Khan's party, has been partially dismantled. Fazal-ur-Rehman, a veteran Islamist politician, complained that the 2024 election was rigged but added that Munir is a "good man and a brave soldier".
The reason that every major university maintains a department of mathematics is that it's cheaper than institutionalizing all those people.