ISLAMABAD – General Syed Asim Munir, the Chief of Army Staff, has beenrecognized as one of the top 500 most influential Muslims globally.
The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre has unveiled the latest editionof “The Muslim 500” magazine, which features a prestigious list ofinfluential Muslims.
This list includes not only Pakistan’s top general but also a number ofpoliticians and influential figures. Prominent Pakistani personalitiesfeatured in this edition are PTI Chairman Imran Khan, PML-N chief NawazSharif, 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 describedas follows:
“General Syed Asim Ahmed Shah is an army general and the current Chief ofArmy Staff. A descendant of a religious and scholarly family, Asim is alsoknown as the first army chief in the history of Pakistan to be a HafizQuran (someone who has memorized the entire Quran). He served as the chiefof both premier military intelligence agencies of Pakistan, although histenure at ISI was short-lived after a falling out with the then-PrimeMinister. He must navigate unprecedented national criticism of the army’sinfluence on Pakistan’s democracy as the country goes through turbulenttimes politically and economically.”
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General Asim Munir assumed command of the 600,000-strong army in November2022 upon General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s retirement after a six-year tenure.Asim Munir’s journey in the armed forces began through the Mangla OfficersTraining School program, where he was honored with the Sword of Honour.
Throughout his illustrious career, this four-star general has led adivision in the northern regions and has held significant roles, includingthe Chief of Military Intelligence (MI) six years ago. He also brieflyheaded the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and was deployed in theKingdom of Saudi Arabia as part of Pakistan’s close defense cooperation.