In July, speculations were being made that Pakistan army Asim Munir, who was elevated to the rank of Field Marshal following Operation Sindoor, may ask President Asif Ali Zardari to step down and would take over the top office.
Shrugging off chances of a military coup in the country, Pakistan army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir has said that he only considers himself a servant of the state, and he has no political ambition. He made the statement while speaking to Jang media group columnist Suhail Warraich during his visit to Brussels, Belgium.
“The talk started with politics, especially on rumours that there is some effort to change the president of Pakistan as well as the prime minister. Field Marshal Munir clearly said, during both the Brussels gathering and in his two-hour discussion with me, that the rumours about a change were completely false,” Warraich said in his column, published on Saturday.
“God has made me protector of the country. I do not desire any position other than that,” Munir told Warraich. “I am a soldier and my greatest desire is martyrdom.”
Speculations about military coup in Pakistan
In July, speculations were being made that Munir, who was elevated to the rank of Field Marshal following Operation Sindoor, may ask President Asif Ali Zardari to step down and would take over the top office. However, Pakistan Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi later put the rumours to rest.
In a statement, Sharif said Munir has never expressed a desire to become the president, and neither “there is any such plan in the offing”. Later, Naqvi also rejected the claims and called them a “malicious campaign” against Pakistan’s government and military.
History of military coups in Pakistan
Pakistan has a history of military rule. Since its creation in 1947, Pakistan has been under military rule for a total of 34 years. The first coup was staged by Ayub Khan in 1958, who stayed in power till 1969. Ayub Khan was succeeded by General Yahya Khan, who stayed in power till 1971.
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq staged a coup in 1977 and stayed in power until he died in 1988. In 1999, General Pervez Musharraf staged a coup and stayed in control until 2008. Musharraf, who died in 2023, was the last military dictator of Pakistan.ย
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