New Delhi:

Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir has been promoted to the topmost military rank of Field Marshal - an honour given only in the rarest of occasions and on achieving a stellar operations record throughout a career in the armed forces.

In a surprising, strangely-amusing decision, Pakistan's Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has 'approved' a proposal to promote the army chief. The announcement comes days after a series of military escalations against India, which began with the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.

THE COMMUNAL SPEECH BEFORE THE TERROR ATTACK

General Asim Munir's inflammatory and shockingly-communal speech is widely considered as the trigger for the religiously-motivated Pahalgam terror attack - in which 26 civilians, all tourists, were shot dead in India for failing to pledge their allegiance to Islam.

The terror attack, which was linked to Pakistan, was carried out by The Resistance Front, an offshoot of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba. This led to India's military response against terrorism. Under Operation Sindoor, India destroyed terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir by precision missile strikes. 9 major terrorist camps and related infrastructure were destroyed.

PROMOTION AFTER A DRUBBING

Pakistan's army chief - the principal decision-maker of that country - then decided to step up the escalatory ladder and launch a military offensive against Indian military installations as well as target civilian and religious sites. Drone attacks from Pakistan went on for three consecutive nights, but most were successfully intercepted by India's air defence systems.

In its response, India launched a sudden and calibrated missile and drone attack on 12 Pakistani air bases, resulting in widespread devastation on Pakistan's military infrastructure and assets. Pakistan's DGMO called his Indian counterpart and "pleaded" for a ceasefire, to which India agreed to a "pause".

Pakistan then indulged in a massive misinformation campaign with videos and claims - all of which were proved to be doctored and false, with some even been simulations from video games. Unlike Pakistan, India gave proof with time-stamped photos and videos, as well as live satellite imagery. Despite his army's drubbing, less than 10 days later, General Asim Munir has been appointed 'Field Marshal' based on these outlandish and outrageous claims.

ARMY CHIEF FOR LIFE?

Since Pakistan's creation in 1947, the country has awarded the five-star rank of Field Marshal only once - to General Ayub Khan, who had self-promoted himself as he was the dictator of Pakistan in 1965. Asim Munir has become the second Field Marshal of the country.

The topmost rank of Field Marshal is a ceremonial rank, and Asim Munir will continue to remain the Army Chief even after the promotion. What is unclear though, is whether the promotion will mean that Asim Munir has no retirement age.

Asim Munir became Army Chief of Pakistan in November 2022. A year later, a parliamentary legal amendment extended his term to five years, from the usual three years for the role of army chief.