The General Who Brought Pakistan Back to Washington
By Haider Paracha for Tab2Mag, August 5
Field Marshal Asim Munir was supposed to be leading Pakistan through crisis—debt, insurgencies, political unrest. Instead, he’s sitting across from Donald Trump in the White House, barely a month after a tense border clash with India.
What came next stunned New Delhi: Trump slapped a 25% tariff on India, calling it a “dead economy,” and hailed a new trade pact with Pakistan. Suddenly, Washington’s favorite South Asian partner wasn’t so obvious.
According to The Economist, America and Pakistan are rebuilding ties once written off after the 2011 bin Laden raid and U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The new agenda: trade, counterterrorism, and Middle East diplomacy. Even U.S. arms sales to Islamabad—long frozen—are back on the table.
Munir is no ordinary soldier. The son of an imam, educated in a madrasa and memorizer of the Quran, he’s the first Pakistani army chief never trained in the West. Pious but pragmatic, he opposes jihadist militants and admires Saudi-style economic reform. Yet on India, he’s blunt—open to talks but ready for escalation. “They need to understand they can be hit everywhere,” warns a military spokesman.
At home, Munir’s popularity is soaring. His promotion to Field Marshal and political clout have ignited rumors of a future presidency—rumors the army calls “nonsense,” but comparisons to past military rulers like Ayub Khan and Pervez Musharraf are hard to ignore.
For Washington, Munir is proving useful: he’s hunted Islamic State offshoots, opened doors to Pakistan’s tech and mining sectors, and hinted at helping America’s Iran strategy. The payoff? Softened U.S. criticism, restored aid programs, and a warming trade relationship.
The stakes are high. Pakistan’s economy remains fragile, trust between the two countries thin, and China is watching warily. Meanwhile, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is vowing “harsh retaliation” for any future attacks.
For now, one thing is clear: Pakistan is back in the American playbook—and it’s Field Marshal Munir holding the pen.
