International Desk : The President government has appointed Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir as the country’s first Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), a newly created apex post that replaces the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC).

The summary for the appointment was moved by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and cleared by the president on December 4.

Field Marshal Munir, who was promoted to the five-star rank earlier this year (only the second officer after Field Marshal Ayub Khan), will now hold the offices of Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces simultaneously for a fixed five-year term.

In a related decision, President Asif Ali Zardari also approved a two-year service extension for Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu, Chief of the Air Staff, beyond March 2026.

The new position of Chief of Defence Forces was established through the recently enacted Pakistan Armed Forces (Amendment) Act 2025 and the 27th Constitutional Amendment. Under the amended Article 243, a Field Marshal (or any officer elevated to that rank) automatically becomes eligible to be appointed CDF with full constitutional authority over the three services.

Speaking in Islamabad hours before the formal notification, Field Marshal Munir said Pakistan was “firmly moving in a positive direction” and would continue its journey of progress.

The government has described the reforms as a long-overdue step toward unified military command in line with modern warfare requirements. Opposition parties, led by PTI, have strongly criticized the move, terming it a further concentration of power and an erosion of civilian supremacy.

Source: Dawn