How Pakistan’s Asim Munir became Trump’s ‘favourite field marshal’

Islamabad, Pakistan – The mounting was Mar-a-Lago, the idiosyncratic residence of United States President Donald Trump, and the question acrophobic the destiny of Russia’s warfare connected Ukraine, which has been raging since February 2022.

“We person stopped 8 wars,” Trump said during a quality league connected December 22, wherever helium besides announced a caller people of heavily equipped warships that volition beryllium named aft him.

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“We stopped a imaginable atomic warfare betwixt Pakistan and India,” the president added, making the statement for wherefore helium believed helium could extremity the warfare successful Ukraine, though helium has truthful acold failed to bash so, contempt erstwhile claiming helium could halt the struggle wrong 24 hours.

“The caput of Pakistan and a highly respected wide – helium is simply a tract marshal – and besides the premier curate of Pakistan said that President Trump saved 10 cardinal lives, possibly more,” the US president added. 

This marked astatine slightest the 10th lawsuit since June this twelvemonth that Trump, who returned to the White House successful January for a 2nd term, publically praised Pakistan’s service chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.

The astir salient occurrence came successful October, erstwhile Trump addressed the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit successful Egypt astatine the decision of the ceasefire statement betwixt Israel and Hamas successful Gaza.

Thanking satellite leaders for their efforts successful the ceasefire, Trump acknowledged Shehbaz Sharif, the Pakistani premier minister, lasting down him, earlier referring to Munir, describing him arsenic “my favourite tract marshal”.

On respective different occasions earlier successful the year, Trump described Munir arsenic “a large fighter”, “a precise important guy”, and an “exceptional quality being”. After their first gathering successful June, the US president said helium was “honoured” to conscionable the Pakistani subject chief.

That nationalist warmth towards Pakistan’s service main underscores however Munir emerged arsenic a cardinal operator of the country’s rising geopolitical illustration successful 2025, analysts say, with immoderate crediting him for reviving the nation’s diplomatic standing, and resurrecting Pakistan’s antecedently strained ties with Washington.

The US-Pakistan relationship, which was successful the doldrums conscionable a fewer years ago, has since expanded beyond information practice to see economical engagement, specified arsenic discussions connected crypto mining and critical minerals.

Many experts hint this displacement to the four-day equipped conflict betwixt Pakistan and India successful May 2025, arguing that it marked a decisive turning point.

India and Pakistan some claimed “victory” successful the aerial war. But irrespective of who won, Islamabad managed to usage the backdrop of the struggle to further its interests, analysts say. The presumption is besides echoed by galore successful Pakistan’s governmental and diplomatic circles.

The struggle with India “was the decisive origin that raised [the] service chief’s illustration internationally,” Khurram Dastgir Khan, Pakistan’s erstwhile overseas affairs and defence minister, told Al Jazeera.

“The triumph precipitated galore trends that had been gathering unit for immoderate time, immoderate of these owed to the circumstantial quality of the US president, Trump.” 

Short war, lasting consequences

India and Pakistan, the 2 nuclear-armed neighbours who person fought respective wars and person remained locked successful rivalry for decades, plunged the portion into situation earlier this twelvemonth aft an April onslaught successful Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians.

India blamed Pakistan, which denied the allegation and called for a “credible, independent, transparent” investigation.

On May 7, India launched strikes wrong Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Pakistan responded with aerial operations, claiming it changeable down astatine slightest six Indian combatant jets. India confirmed craft losses days later, but did not specify the number.

The struggle escalated implicit the adjacent 3 days arsenic some sides exchanged drone attacks and, connected May 10, launched missiles astatine each other’s subject targets. The warring ended lone aft aggravated backchannel diplomacy, peculiarly involving the US, produced a ceasefire.

Debris of an Indian craft prevarication successful the compound of a mosque astatine Pampore successful the Pulwama territory of Indian-administered Kashmir, connected Wednesday, May 7, 2025 [Dar Yasin/AP Photo]

While Pakistan acknowledged Washington’s relation and aboriginal nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, India insisted the ceasefire came astir purely done bilateral dialogue. New Delhi has agelong argued that immoderate quality betwixt India and Pakistan tin lone beryllium resolved bilaterally.

But since May, Trump has repeatedly invoked the conflict, insisting connected much than 4 twelve occasions that helium brokered the ceasefire. He has also, astatine assorted points, echoed Pakistan’s assertion of downing Indian aircraft.

“[New] Delhi’s sullen refusal to recognition Trump with the ceasefire opened a abstraction that service main Munir and PM Sharif moved swiftly to utilise,” Khan, who is besides a subordinate of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party, said.

Salman Bashir, a erstwhile Pakistani overseas secretary, agreed, calling the May struggle a “definite turning point”.

Bashir said that Trump is an “unusual president”, and his affinity for Munir, combined with the clash with India, helped reset ties betwixt Islamabad and Washington.

“Asim Munir is pivotal to the revival of [Pakistan’s] diplomatic fortunes,” Bashir told Al Jazeera.

First signs of shift

Pakistan was erstwhile a cardinal US state and was designated a large non-NATO state pursuing the September 11, 2001, attacks successful the US.

The narration frayed successful consequent years, arsenic US officials accused Islamabad of duplicity successful the US’s alleged “war connected terror”. During his archetypal term, Trump accused Pakistan of giving the US “nothing but lies and deceit” and of harbouring equipped groups. His successor, Joe Biden, aboriginal described Pakistan arsenic “one of the astir unsafe nations”.

At the aforesaid time, US argumentation pivoted sharply towards India, viewed successful Washington arsenic a imaginable counterweight to China, Pakistan’s closest strategical partner.

Yet, conscionable 2 months into his 2nd term, Trump struck a antithetic tone. Addressing a associated league of Congress successful March, helium thanked Pakistan for arresting 1 of the alleged perpetrators of the Abbey Gate bombing astatine Kabul airdrome successful August 2021. The onslaught killed 13 US work members and dozens of Afghan civilians during the US’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“I privation to convey particularly the authorities of Pakistan for helping apprehension this monster,” Trump said.

Qamar Cheema, enforcement manager of the Islamabad-based Sanober Institute, said this had been a awesome of the US’s shifting attack towards Pakistan.

“[The] US ever needed an state who could assistance them execute counterterrorism goals, and portion they had been supporting India importantly for the past galore years, aft the Abbey Gate bomber arrest, [the] US realised Pakistan has the capableness to assistance present their goals,” Cheema told Al Jazeera.

“I deliberation the tract marshal has emerged arsenic a soldier-diplomat,” helium added, noting that Munir had “used his skills of military-diplomacy” to beryllium Pakistan’s “advocate”.

The service chief’s increasing diplomatic clout besides mirrors his progressively elevated home profile.

Field marshal’s choreography

Since independency from Britain successful 1947, Pakistan’s military, peculiarly the army, has been the astir almighty instauration successful the country.

Four coups and decades of nonstop authorities entrenched its dominance. Even nether civilian governments, the service main has often been regarded arsenic the astir influential fig successful nationalist life.

Following the May struggle with India, Munir was elevated to tract marshal, lone the 2nd serviceman successful Pakistan’s past to clasp the rank. Later successful the year, a law alteration created the post of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), to beryllium held concurrently by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS).

The determination placed the Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Navy nether Munir’s authority.

Though these moves sparked disapproval from sections of the absorption and respective autarkic analysts, Pakistan’s overseas relations appeared to summation momentum done the year.

In South Asia, Islamabad revived ties with Bangladesh pursuing the ouster of erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, wide viewed arsenic adjacent to New Delhi. Several high-level visits followed, including Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar’s trip to Dhaka successful August, the astir elder Pakistani sojourn successful much than 13 years.

Pakistani civilian and subject leaders, including Munir and Sharif, besides engaged counterparts from Central Asia, including Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

Perhaps astir notably, Pakistan sought to equilibrium relations crossed the Middle East, maintaining ties with Gulf monarchies portion besides engaging Iran.

After gathering Munir successful June, Trump remarked that Pakistanis “know Iran precise well, amended than most”.

Fahd Humayun, an adjunct prof of governmental subject astatine Tufts University, said that these developments efficaciously “re-telegraphed Pakistan’s strategical currency arsenic a determination actor” with power beyond its borders.

He identified 2 unrelated but converging developments: Washington’s renewed absorption connected the Middle East, peculiarly Gaza and Iran, and the show of Pakistan’s accepted aerial defences during the May struggle with India, which Humayun described arsenic a success.

“Munir moved rapidly to capitalise connected both, leveraging events, including the struggle with India, the warring betwixt Israel and Iran successful June, and efforts to bring the Gaza warfare to a close, to prosecute the highest levels of the Trump administration, portion simultaneously consolidating governmental power astatine home,” Humayun told Al Jazeera.

Pakistan has besides expressed a willingness to participate successful the US-led planetary stabilisation force, a arguable conjugation projected by Trump to oversee the information of Gaza.

US President Donald Trump speaks during a satellite leaders’ acme connected ending Israel’s warfare connected Gaza, amid a US-brokered prisoner-captive swap and ceasefire woody betwixt Israel and Hamas, successful Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025 [Yoan Valat/Pool via Reuters]

Munir has held high-profile meetings with subject leaders from Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Libya. The astir consequential engagement came successful September, erstwhile Munir and Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and signed a communal defence agreement.

Cheema said that Munir, who made 2 much visits to the US successful August and September, had worked “tremendously hard” to presumption Pakistan arsenic a determination subordinate beyond South Asia.

“The US sees that Munir and Pakistan tin play a larger role, and they are already engaging with US allies successful the region,” helium said.

Gains abroad, costs astatine home

Some observers reason that Pakistan’s diplomatic lasting has not reached specified heights successful decades.

Khan claimed that Pakistan is among the fewer countries maintaining affirmative relations with each the large stakeholders successful planetary conflicts, including the US, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Russia.

“International salience has raised the government’s home credibility and consolidated the country’s economical and governmental stability,” helium said.

Others are much sceptical, and cautious astir drafting sweeping conclusions astir the trajectory of Pakistani diplomacy successful a fast-moving world.

“Pakistan needs governmental stability. What that means successful today’s satellite is yet to beryllium seen,” Bashir, the erstwhile overseas secretary, said, pointing to concerns that “we perceive little astir ideology and much astir centralised control” domestically. 

Maria Rashid, a lecturer successful planetary relations astatine the University of Wolverhampton, said that Pakistan’s home and overseas authorities are profoundly intertwined.

“The US-Pakistan subject emotion matter is, of course, not new. The narration putters on adjacent during the lows. As always, this clip around, it’s an alignment of interests, 1 that has had disastrous consequences for ideology successful Pakistan historically,” she told Al Jazeera.

Previous periods of adjacent US-Pakistan collaboration see the 1980s, erstwhile they some backed the mujahideen successful Afghanistan against the Soviet Union, and the station September 11, 2001, play during the US’s “war connected terror”. On some occasions, critics argued that US enactment strengthened the subject leaders who governed Pakistan astatine the time: General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq successful the 1980s, and Pervez Musharraf successful the 2000s.

Meanwhile, for each of Pakistan’s mounting diplomatic visibility, unit astatine location has surged successful 2025, peculiarly successful the occidental provinces bordering Afghanistan, resulting successful the highest casualty figures successful a decade. Opposition parties and rights groups impeach the authorities of eroding civilian liberties, suppressing the media and engaging successful governmental violence.

The transition of the 27th law amendment earlier this twelvemonth proved particularly controversial. Critics said it granted Munir sweeping powers arsenic the CDF, promised him beingness immunity and weakened judicial oversight.

The Sanober Institute’s Cheema argues that powerfulness successful Pakistan has ever been shared betwixt elected and unelected institutions, and that the amendment was indispensable for subject reform.

“People whitethorn kick astir it and accidental it is [an] accumulation of power,” helium said. But helium argued that “this was needed for [the] translation of the equipped forces, and [to] amended cohesion”.

The continued crackdown connected the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the enactment of erstwhile Prime Minister Imran Khan, jailed since August 2023, besides continued to gully disapproval passim the year, including from the United Nations.

Rashid, the planetary relations lecturer, said the May struggle with India came astatine a important infinitesimal for Munir and the military, whose popularity had been astatine a debased ebb amid governmental turmoil and rising violence.

“The warring successful May resulted successful Munir’s resurrection arsenic the strongman who proved his mettle against India,” she said.

For the military, Rashid added, overseas argumentation occurrence has helped propulsion uncomfortable home issues into the background.

“Khan’s incarceration, the 27th amendment, the insurgency successful Balochistan, each these quality items are present relegated to the inheritance against the ‘success’ of Pakistan’s diplomatic and economical relevance internationally,” she said.