Picture : X/@OfficialDGISPR
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has approved the appointment of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir as the country’s first Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) for a period of five years.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s summary recommending Munir for both Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) was approved, the Pakistan President’s office said in a X post.
“President Asif Ali Zardari approved the appointment of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir as COAS concurrently as CDF for 5 years,” the official X handle of the President of Pakistan said in a post.
President Asif Ali Zardari approved the appointment of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir as COAS concurrently as CDF for 5 years, and a 2-year extension for Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu from 19 March 2026. The President conveyed his best wishes to both. pic.twitter.com/RrIJNCC7I5
— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) December 4, 2025
This comes after a lot of speculation over Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s willingness to hand over more power to Munir, as the Sharif government was supposed to notify the appointment of the country’s first Chief of Defence Forces on November 29, the day Munir’s original three-year term as army chief ended.
The Chief of Defence Forces’ role was established last month under the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, aiming to centralise military command.
Additionally, the Pakistan President also approved a two-year extension in the service of Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu, which will take effect from March 19, 2026.
