ISLAMABAD – General Syed Asim Munir, the Chief of Army Staff, has been recognized as one of the top 500 most influential Muslims globally.
The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre has unveiled the latest edition of "The Muslim 500" magazine, which features a prestigious list of influential Muslims.
This list includes not only Pakistan's top general but also a number of politicians and influential figures. Prominent Pakistani personalities featured in this edition are PTI Chairman Imran Khan, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, his brother Shehbaz Sharif, Islamic scholar Maulana Tariq Jamil, Taqi Usmani, and Nobel Laureate Malala Yousufzai.
In the profile provided by the forum, General Syed Asim Munir is described as follows:
"General Syed Asim Ahmed Shah is an army general and the current Chief of Army Staff. A descendant of a religious and scholarly family, Asim is also known as the first army chief in the history of Pakistan to be a Hafiz Quran (someone who has memorized the entire Quran). He served as the chief of both premier military intelligence agencies of Pakistan, although his tenure at ISI was short-lived after a falling out with the then-Prime Minister. He must navigate unprecedented national criticism of the army’s influence on Pakistan’s democracy as the country goes through turbulent times politically and economically."
General Asim Munir assumed command of the 600,000-strong army in November 2022 upon General Qamar Javed Bajwa's retirement after a six-year tenure. Asim Munir's journey in the armed forces began through the Mangla Officers Training School program, where he was honored with the Sword of Honour.
Throughout his illustrious career, this four-star general has led a division in the northern regions and has held significant roles, including the Chief of Military Intelligence (MI) six years ago. He also briefly headed the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and was deployed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as part of Pakistan's close defense cooperation.