Pak army chief Munir bypasses PM Sharif, moves to deploy more military assets to Saudi Arabia
Pakistan defence forces chief Asim Munir agreed to quickly deploy more Pakistani troops to Saudi Arabia, despite the Pakistani Parliament voting to stay out of the Houthi conflict 11 years ago.The Mecca defence pact signed by Pakistan with Saudi Arabia and Turkey in August was invoked for the first time on Monday, amid increasing Houthi attacks on the Saudi kingdom.According to Reuters, the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement is based on a 2025 Saudi-Pakistani pact under which Pakistan had sent about 8,000 troops to the kingdom by May.Pakistan’s armed forces have often been accused of holding the reins of Islamabad’s politics.In 2025, Munir was elected as the field marshal, the chief of all defence forces in Pakistan. Constitutional changes have allowed him to hold the position till 2030, with lifetime rank as the field marshal.Munir is also immune to any criminal prosecution, signalling the military’s increasing influence over the constitutional establishment.Munir is widely acknowledged to be more powerful domestically than any of his predecessors. The military has control over major government portfolios like defence and foreign relations.Jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), currently protesting for his release, has accused the army of dominating politics.The relationship between Imran Khan and Asim Munir has reportedly been bitter since 2019, when Munir, then director-general of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was removed after less than eight months in the post, reportedly at the insistence of the then-PM Khan.No official reason was given for Munir’s removal.Khan was himself ousted as prime minister in April 2022. Seven months later, in November 2022, Munir returned to the centre of Pakistan’s power structure when PM Shehbaz Sharif appointed him army chief, succeeding Bajwa.
