Pakistan army chief to be promoted to field marshal rank

Pakistan's cabinet approved on Tuesday a proposal to promote army chief General Asim Munir to the rank of field marshal, according to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office of the country.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday, days after the country's worst military conflict with neighbour India in nearly three decades.

It came "in recognition of the strategic brilliance and courageous leadership that ensured national security and decisively defeated the enemy," Sharif said in a statement from his office.

A security official said the field marshal was a ceremonial five-star rank that usually signifies extraordinary leadership and wartime achievement.

The promotion is the first since Pakistani dictator General Ayub Khan made himself a field marshal in 1965, he said.

With the new ceremonial rank, he said, Munir will remain the army chief.

The cabinet also decided to extend the service of Pakistan Air Force chief Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu after his service term expires, the PM's office said.

It did not say for how long Sidhu's job would be extended, nor did it say whether Munir's promotion to the rank of field marshal will mean that he has no retirement date.

Munir started his job as army chief in November 2022.

A parliamentary legal amendment extended Munir's term to five years in November 2023, from the usual three years for the role of army chief.

"It is not individual, but an honour for the armed forced of Pakistan and the whole nation," Munir said in a statement issued by the army public relations wing.