Live updates: Follow the latest news on US-Iran war
Pakistan's peacemaking efforts have placed its armed forces chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in the global spotlight alongside Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as they mediate between Washington and Tehran to end a war that has disrupted energy supplies and rattled economies worldwide.
Field Marshal Munir's rise to international prominence comes three years after he was appointed Pakistan's army chief to replace Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, who retired in November 2022.
He previously served as chief of the country's two most influential intelligence agencies, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence, and commanded Pakistani forces deployed in the mountainous northern region of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Mr Shehbaz's government promoted him to field marshal following a four-day aerial war with India in May last year, which ended in a ceasefire that Pakistan credited to the efforts of US President Donald Trump.
The promotion was in “recognition of his brilliant military leadership, courage and bravery, ensuring Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and courageous defence against the enemy”, according to a statement from the prime minister's office.
Mr Trump, who hosted Field Marshal Munir at the White House in June, has described him as “my favourite field marshal”. Saudi Arabia, which signed a mutual defence treaty with Pakistan in September, awarded him the King Abdulaziz Medal of the First Class during a visit to Riyadh in December. The honour recognised “his distinguished efforts to enhance our co-operation and advance the Saudi-Pakistani relations”.
Although a first round of peace talks in Islamabad last weekend ended without agreement, Mr Trump was full of praise for Mr Sharif and Field Marshal Munir. In a post on Truth Social, he credited their “kind and very competent leadership” for bringing US and Iranian negotiators together and described them as “very extraordinary men”.
In a bid to revive negotiations before the end of a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan, Field Marshal Munir arrived in Tehran on Wednesday for meetings with Iran's leadership. Meanwhile, Mr Sharif embarked on a tour including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.
Born into the family of a school principal in Rawalpindi, Punjab province, in 1968, Field Marshal Munir is the first Pakistani military officer to head a unified command of all three wings of the country's armed forces – army, navy and air force – following a constitutional amendment in December.
The amendment gave him greater powers in the newly created post of Chief of Defence Forces and abolished the previous highest-ranking post, the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
It also provides lifetime constitutional protection for officers of five-star rank such as Field Marshal, Marshal of the Air Force, or Admiral of the Fleet, and grants them permanent uniformed status and privileges.
