ISLAMABAD: The Shehbaz Sharif govt in Pakistan promoted Tuesday military chief Syed Asim Munir from normal to the five-star rank of Subject Marshal in recognition of what it described as “exemplary management” whereas responding to India’s Operation Sindoor and bringing “nice honour to our motherland”.For a rustic that has had 4 army rulers at completely different intervals in its historical past, Subject Marshal Munir is barely the second Military chief to have been elevated to the apex rank, modelled on the British military’s construction. The primary one, Subject Marshal Ayub Khan, assumed the rank in 1959 whereas he was President, citing “requests” from Pakistani civil society.PM Shehbaz’s workplace introduced that the cupboard unanimously determined to additionally proceed the providers of Air Chief Marshal Zahar Ahmed Babar Sidhu after his time period ends.The assertion additionally claimed that Pakistan downed 5 Indian jets and thwarted “additional incursions”, resulting in a US-mediated pause in army operations from Might 10. Inter-Providers Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media affairs wing, quoted Subject Marshal Munir as dedicating the honour to “the nation, armed forces, and martyrs”.In a congratulatory assertion on X, Shehbaz credited Subject Marshal Munir with orchestrating a “excessive technique” throughout the battle with India, which escalated with the latter’s Might 6-7 airstrikes focusing on 9 terrorist websites. Operation Sindoor was India’s response to 26 deaths within the April 22 terrorist assault on vacationers in J&Okay’s Pahalgam.With out naming India, Shehbaz stated that underneath Subject Marshal Munir, the military “crushed the enemy’s nefarious designs”.With Pakistan’s historical past of army coups looming massive, newly coronated Subject Marshal Munir is broadly seen because the kingmaker behind Shehbaz’s premiership. Critics of the transfer inside Pakistan argue the promotion strengthens the army’s grip over civilian governance, particularly amid home challenges just like the Baloch insurgency and financial woes.The timing of the promotion, coinciding with Pakistan looking for US and EU’s help to counter “India’s terrorism narrative”, suggests a bid to challenge power.Whereas the PM’s workplace and ISPR body Subject Marshal Munir’s elevation as a tribute to nationwide resilience, its political undertones and opaque army claims elevate considerations about democratic backsliding and regional instability.