Asim Munir, who is now Pakistan’s chief of defence forces, is expected to fly to Washington to meet President Donald Trump in the coming weeks. The meeting will likely focus on the Gaza stabilisation force.
Pakistan’s most powerful military chief ever faces the toughest test of his newly amassed powers as Washington pushes Islamabad to contribute troops to the Gaza stabilisation force, a move analysts say could spark domestic backlash. Field Marshal Asim Munir is expected to fly to Washington to meet President Donald Trump in the coming weeks for a third meeting in six months that will likely focus on the Gaza force, two sources told Reuters, one of them a key player in the general’s economic diplomacy.
Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan calls for a force from Muslim nations to oversee a transition period for reconstruction and economic recovery in the war-torn Palestinian territory, decimated by over two years of Israeli military bombardment.
Many countries are wary of the mission to demilitarise Gaza’s Islamist militant group Hamas, which could drag them into the conflict and enrage their pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli populations.
ASIM MUNIR’S CLOSE TIES WITH TRUMP
But Munir has built a close relationship with the mercurial Trump to repair years of mistrust between Washington and Islamabad. In June, he was rewarded with a White House lunch – the first time a U.S. president hosted Pakistan’s army chief alone, without civilian officials.
“If the Pakistanis declined to be a part of this mission, then that might disappoint Trump. And that could be a problem for Pakistan, given that it’s very clear that Asim Munir, not just Asim Munir, but I’d say the civilian and military leadership on the whole, are very keen for the US to invest in Pakistan and to provide security assistance, which has largely been suspended for some time,” said Michael Kugelman, Senior Fellow, South Asia at Washington-based Atlantic Council.
Pakistan, the world’s only Muslim country with nuclear weapons, has a battle-hardened military having gone to war with arch-rival India three times and a brief conflict this summer.
It has also tackled insurgencies in its far-flung regions and is currently embroiled in a bruising war with Islamist militants who it says are operating from Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s military strength has triggered interest from Trump, said author and defence analyst Ayesha Siddiqa.
“Trump is also happy for that engagement because he looks at Pakistan’s military capability, institutional capability, and knows that they can fight,” she said.
Pakistan’s military, foreign office and information ministry did not respond to questions from Reuters. The White House also did not respond to a request for a comment.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said last month that Islamabad could consider contributing troops for peacekeeping, but disarming Hamas “is not our job.”
Munir was anointed chief of the defence forces to head the air force and navy as well, with a job extension until 2030.
He will retain his field marshal title forever, as well as enjoy a lifetime immunity from any criminal prosecution under the constitutional amendments that Pakistan’s civilian government pushed through parliament late last month.
“We’ve seen what I would argue to be unprecedented changes to Pakistan’s constitution that have resulted in what could best be described as the unbridled power of Asim Munir,” Kugelman added.
Over the past few weeks, Munir has met military and civilian leaders from countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Azerbaijan and Qatar, according to the military’s statements, which Siddiqa said appeared to be consultations on the Gaza force.
CONCERN BACK HOME
But the big concern at home is that the involvement of Pakistan troops in Gaza under a U.S.-backed plan could re-ignite protests from Pakistan’s Islamist parties that are deeply opposed to the U.S. and Israel.
The Islamists have street power to mobilise thousands. A powerful and violent anti-Israel Islamist party that fights for upholding Pakistan’s ultra-strict blasphemy laws was banned in October.
Authorities arrested its leaders and over 1,500 supporters and seized its assets and bank accounts in an ongoing crackdown, officials said. While Islamabad has outlawed the group, its ideology is still alive.
The party of former jailed premier, Imran Khan, whose supporters won the most seats in the 2024 national elections and have wide public support, also has an axe to grind against Munir.
“There is a risk of religious hardliners reacting negatively…it could lead to violence, which is not what I think that the military would like to see,” said Kugelman.
