President approves Field Marshal Munir’s appointment as Chief of Defence Forces

President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday approved Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s summary appointing Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir as the country’s first Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) for a five-year term, the Presidency said in a statement.

Munir, who will now hold the positions of COAS and CDF concurrently, has been given the role under the government’s newly established structure aimed at enhancing joint operational coordination among the armed services.

The President also approved a two-year extension in service for Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu, which will take effect upon completion of his current term on March 19, 2026. Sidhu has served as Chief of Air Staff since 2021.

The Presidency said Zardari conveyed his best wishes to both commanders as they continue their respective tenures.

Earlier in the evening, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif forwarded a summary to President Asif Ali Zardari proposing that Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir be appointed as the country’s Chief of Defence Forces.

According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, Sharif approved the summary for Field Marshal Munir to serve concurrently as COAS and CDF before sending it to the Presidency. The PMO said the dual appointment carries a tenure of five years.

Last week, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the notification for the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) appointment would be issued “in due course,” urging the public to avoid conjecture.

A day later, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the government would issue the notification soon, noting that Field Marshal Munir was already performing the functions of the office. He attributed the delay partly to the prime minister’s travel schedule and emphasised that the defence ministry must coordinate closely with the PM Office on such appointments.

The government’s passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment last month laid the legal foundation for overhauling the higher-defence structure, but procedural delays slowed what planners had hoped would be a seamless transition.

One key appointment still pending is the commander of the newly-created National Strategic Command (NSC), a four-star post that will assume the nuclear oversight role previously held by the now-abolished chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Officials expect the NSC commander to be named only after the CDF notification is fully processed.­

Under the amended Article 243, the NSC commander will be appointed by the prime minister on the recommendation of the COAS, who now concurrently serves as the CDF.

Amendments to the National Command Authority Act are also required to align it with the new structure, particularly regarding how the new posts will be positioned relative to the air force and navy leadership, and whether service chiefs will retain their representation in strategic decision-making once their commands are subsumed under a unified NSC.