Pakistan army chief General Asim Munir promoted to field marshal

Pakistan's army chief General Asim Munir will be promoted to the rank of field marshal, the prime minister's office said in a statement on Tuesday, the first time in almost 60 years that a general has been elevated to the role.

His promotion, which was approved by the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, comes days after the country's worst military conflict with 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 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.