The government on Thursday decided to appoint Lt. Gen Asim Munir as the next army chief according to reports. An official statement about the decision is expected soon from PM House.

Lt. General Asim Munir is the senior most officer in the army after his promotion as a four-star general at the time of this announcement. He was commissioned into the Frontier Force Regiment and is currently serving as the quartermaster general GHQ. He was set to retire on November 27 if not promoted.

He was also the recipient of the Sword of Honour when he was commissioned into the army and is a Hafiz-e-Quran. Analysts say that he is apolitical, a point that might have contributed to his appointment in the wake of the army’s recent posture of ‘neutrality’.

In a decorated military career, he was appointed as:

• Commander Northern Areas in 2014
• DG Military Intelligence in 2017
• DG Inter-Services Intelligence in 2018
• Corp Commander Gujranwala in 2019
• Quarter Master General in 2021

It is significant that he led two of the intelligence agencies, said Aaj News analyst Asma Shirazi. He is the first army chief who is not from the PMA Long Course, she added, but from the Officers Training School. He has served at Siachin as well. He is from a middle class family. Asma Shirazi said that as far as she had seen he was apolitical and known as such.

COAS Asim Munir’s native town is Toba Tek Singh and he has been living in Dehri Hassanabad in Rawalpindi for decades. His father was the principal of Technical School Lal Kurti. His brother has been associated with the education department as a teacher and his brother-in-law Wing Commander Mushaf Mir was martyred in an accident.