Talk of Field Marshal becoming president ‘nonsense’: DG ISPR

- DG ISPR rebukes reports of Field Marshal becoming president.
- We’ll start from east, says ISPR chief on any future India attack.
- India can be hit everywhere: military spokesperson.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has firmly refuted reports claiming Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir has any intention of becoming the country’s president.
In an interview with the British journal The Economist, the chief military spokesperson termed such reports of the army chief becoming president as “nonsense”.
This reaffirmation comes after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in July strongly dismissed the rumours suggesting that President Asif Ali Zardari may be asked to step down or COAS has any ambition to assume the presidency.
Terming such claims as “mere speculation,” the premier assured that there was no truth to the reports circulating in certain sections of the media.
Speaking to The News on the matter, the prime minister categorically stated: “Field Marshal Asim Munir has never expressed any desire to become the president, nor is there any such plan in the offing.” He emphasised that the trio of President Zardari, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and he himself share a relationship built on mutual respect and a common goal — the progress and prosperity of Pakistan.
PM Shehbaz’s clarification came after Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, in a statement shared on his official X handle, denounced what he called a “malicious campaign” targeting President Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Army Chief.
“We are fully aware of who is behind the malicious campaign,” said Naqvi, who is considered close to the top military leadership. “I have categorically stated that there has been no discussion, nor does any such idea exist, about the president being asked to resign or the COAS aspiring to assume the presidency,” he added.
Meanwhile, DG ISPR, while responding to a question about how Pakistan would react if India repeats any act of aggression, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that Pakistan would begin by striking deeper within India. “We’ll start from the east. “They [India] also need to understand that they can be hit everywhere,” he added.
Earlier in May, Pakistan and India engaged in the military confrontation triggered by an attack in April on tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, before agreeing to a ceasefire.
In response to the Indian aggression, Pakistan’s armed forces launched a large-scale retaliatory military action, named “Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos”, and targeted several Indian military targets across multiple regions.
Pakistan downed six Indian fighter jets, including three Rafales, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the US.
The ceasefire was first announced by US President Donald Trump on social media after Washington held talks with both sides, but India has differed with Trump’s claims that it resulted from his intervention and threats to sever trade talks.
However, Pakistan has acknowledged Trump’s efforts and formally recommended him for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, citing his role in defusing tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi last month.
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