DG ISPR rubbishes rumours of army chief becoming president

Military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has rubbished rumours of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir becoming the president.

His statement follows a similar rebuttal by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi early in July, when he clarified that no idea existed “about the president being asked to resign or the COAS aspiring to assume the presidency”.

Gen Chaudhry, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general, told The Economist that “talk of his boss becoming president is ‘nonsense’”.

The Economist noted that COAS Munir’s popularity has surged since the May conflict with India. It added that the ruling coalition’s recently acquired two-thirds majority in the parliament needed for a Constitutional Amendment “ignited rumours that the army chief could become president too”.

The government, as well as the military, have repeatedly warned about “fake news and propaganda” proliferating on social media, with Gen Chaudhry saying that not enough was being done against “digital terrorism” under the laws.

On July 10, Naqvi asserted that President Asif Ali Zardari “enjoys a strong and respectful relationship with the leadership of the armed forces”.

He quoted the president as having “clearly” stated: “I know who is spreading these falsehoods, why they are doing so, and who stands to benefit from this propaganda.”

Naqvi stressed that the “sole focus” of COAS Munir was Pakistan’s strength and stability, and “nothing else”.

In May, President Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formally decorated COAS Munir with the rank of field marshal for his “sagacious leadership and exceptional strategy” during the recent conflict with India.

The rank of field marshal is the highest rank of armies built on the pattern of the British Army. It has only been awarded to one other — Gen Ayub Khan — by the presidential cabinet in 1959. It is a ceremonial five-star rank that usually signifies extraordinary leadership and wartime achievement.

In a subsequent dinner hosted by the army chief, Field Marshal Munir lauded the political leadership for their “strategic foresight” during Marka-i-Haq against India.

The next month, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, who belongs to PM Shehbaz’s PML-N, hailed the “existing hybrid model of governance” in the country. In a separate interview, he also termed it as a “practical necessity” for Pakistan, saying the system was “doing wonders”.