Key points
- Field Marshal Munir’s popularity has surged since the May conflict with India: The Economist
- Interior Minister has also refuted reports of the army chief aspiring to assume presidency
ISLAMABAD: Head of the Pakistan Army’s media wing Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhary has dismissed reports of Army Chief Syed Asim Munir becoming president.
In an interview with The Economist, he said speculations about Field Marshal Munir becoming president were completely baseless.
The Director General (DG) of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) addressed speculations made in various circles following the recent conflict with India.
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 army chief aspiring to assume the presidency”.
Army chief’s popularity
The Economist noted that Field Marshal 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”.
Response to India
Meanwhile, DG ISPR, while responding to a question about how Pakistan would react if India repeats any act of aggression, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that Pakistan would begin by striking deeper within India.
“We’ll start from the east. They [India] also need to understand that they can be hit everywhere,” he added.
Earlier in May, Pakistan and India engaged in a military confrontation before agreeing to a ceasefire.
In response to the Indian aggression, Pakistan’s armed forces launched a large-scale retaliatory military action, named “Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos”, and targeted several Indian military targets across multiple regions.
