Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, has been awarded Saudi Arabia’s highest civilian honour, the King Abdulaziz Medal of Excellence.

Field Marshal Munir is currently on an official visit to the Kingdom.

“Under a Royal Decree issued by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the King Abdulaziz Medal of Excellent Class, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s highest national honour was also conferred upon the Field Marshal,” the Army said on Monday (December 22, 2025).

The Saudi leadership conveyed its appreciation for Field Marshal Asim Munir’s professionalism and strategic outlook, noting his commitment to strengthening the longstanding, brotherly ties between the two countries.

Field Marshal Munir expressed gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Saudi leadership for the honour, describing it as a reflection of the enduring bonds between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the security, stability, and prosperity of the Kingdom.

Field Marshal Munir also called on Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Minister of Defence of Saudi Arabia, during his official visit to the Kingdom.

During the meeting, both sides held discussions on matters of mutual interest, including regional security dynamics, defence and military cooperation, strategic collaboration, and evolving geopolitical challenges.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday (December 4, 2025) approved the appointment of the army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, as Pakistan’s first Chief of Defence Forces for a period of five years.

President Zardari approved the summary submitted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, formally asking him to appoint Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Munir as the first CDF of Pakistan.

Last month, the parliament passed the 27th Constitutional Amendment providing to create the post of CDF with the objective to create unity of command and expedite the decision making in any critical situation.

The CDF replaced the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), the post for which was abolished.

The President extended his best wishes to Mr. Munir, a release from President’s office said in Islamabad.

Mr. Zardari also approved a two-year extension in the service of Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu, Chief of Air Staff, to take effect from the completion of his present tenure on March 19, 2026.

According to a statement by the PM Office, the Prime Minister had earlier approved the summary for the appointment of Field Marshal Munir as the army chief and the CDF, and then referred it to the President House.

Field Marshal Munir was appointed as COAS in November 2022 initially for three years, but his tenure was extended for five years in 2024.

The decision to issue a formal notification has put to rest rumours regarding delay in the appointment of the CDF, which was due since November 27, when the last CJCSC General Sahir Shamshad Mirza retired.

Earlier, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, addressing a press conference, had said that there was no legal or political obstacle regarding the notification of the appointment of the Chief of Defence Forces and this notification would be issued soon.

The government has handed over the security of the visiting Sri Lankan team to the Pakistan Military forces after they agreed to continue the tour on the intervention of Army chief Asim Munir after a serial bomb blasts rocked Islamabad.

The chairman of PCB and Federal Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi said that since state level security is now being provided to the visiting team their security is now being looked after by the army and rangers in conjunction with the police.

Mr. Naqvi also told the media in Rawalpindi on Thursday (November 13, 2025) night when he met with the Pakistani and Sri Lankan players at the stadium that the Sri Lankan government and board had shown great support for Pakistan cricket by continuing with the tour.

He confirmed that some Sri Lankan players wanted to return home due to security concerns after the terror attack in Islamabad.

“The positive outcome was only achieved through sustained engagement between Pakistani and Sri Lankan leadership,” he said.

He also confirmed that Army Chief Munir had assured Sri Lankan Defence Minister Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon of the team’s safety.

“The Field Marshal himself spoke to the Sri Lankan Defence Minister and Secretary and I am grateful the players showed great bravery to decide to remain in Pakistan,” he added.

Mr. Naqvi said that he himself had held a long meeting with the Sri Lankan players to assure them their safety and well being was the responsibility of the Pakistan government.

“They had many concerns, but we tried to allay all of those,” Mr. Naqvi said, highlighting that Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake spoke with his country’s team to convince them.

The New Zealand team had abandoned their white ball tour of Pakistan in September 2021 after getting creditable intel about security threats to them in Rawalpindi.

Launching a fresh attack on Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan has described him as the “most oppressive dictator” in the country’s history and a “mentally unstable” man.

The 73-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician has been in jail since August 2023 in multiple cases.

“Asim Munir is the most oppressive dictator in Pakistan’s history and a mentally unstable man. The extent of tyranny under his rule is unprecedented….Munir, in his lust for power, is capable of doing anything,” Khan’s official handle posted on X on Tuesday (November 4, 2025).

The tragedies of May 9, November 26 and Muridke are the worst examples of the “blind use of power,” Khan said, referring to killings of his party workers in direct firing by security personnel in Islamabad and police crackdown on Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan in Muridke.

“The indiscriminate firing on unarmed civilians is something no civilised society could ever even contemplate. No other era has witnessed such brutalities against women as this one,” he said.

Khan said his wife, Bushra Bibi, has been kept in solitary confinement merely to put pressure on him.

“We prefer death over slavery. Asim Munir is inflicting every possible form of injustice upon me and my wife. No political leader’s family has ever faced such cruelty. I want to make it absolutely clear once again — no matter what he (Munir) does, I will neither bow down nor submit to him,” he said.

Khan said his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party will not hold talks with either the Form-47 government of Shehbaz Sharif or the powerful military establishment.

“Negotiating with a puppet government is meaningless when its Prime Minister operates under a policy of ‘I will ask before I answer.’ Talks are futile also because every time we attempted dialogue, repression only intensified. All power currently lies with one individual — Asim Munir — who will go to any extent to secure his seat,” he said.

The final decision regarding any talks will be made by Tehreek Tahafuz-e-Aeen Pakistan (Movement for the Protection of the Constitution) allies — Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Khan added.

He said the cases against him are being deliberately prolonged to keep him imprisoned. “Everyone knows these cases are baseless and will eventually collapse, which is why they are being withheld from hearing,” he added.

Pakistan’s Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir had his first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, along with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on Tuesday (September 2, 2025) during which the two sides held wide-ranging talks on bilateral and regional cooperation.

Mr. Munir is part of Mr. Sharif’s delegation, which participated in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin and will attend a grand parade of the Chinese army to be held here on Wednesday (September 3, 2025) to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

During his first visit to China in July after taking over as Field Marshal, Mr. Munir met Vice-President Han Zheng but not President Xi, unlike his predecessor General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

His visit followed after he was hosted for lunch by U.S. President Donald Trump, a rare gesture by an American leader which raised eyebrows in China, considering Pak-China all-weather ties. While Mr. Xi met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of other leaders, who attended the SCO summit in Tianjin, Mr. Sharif was allocated the slot on Tuesday to meet the Chinese President in Beijing.

Mr. Munir was expected to join Mr. Sharif to watch the parade in which the Chinese military plans to display its most modern weapons of all varieties, including aerial, ground, electronic and missile systems.

The weapons systems were of big interest to the Pakistan military as over 80% of its weapons acquisitions are from China. During the meeting, the two sides held wide-ranging talks on bilateral and regional cooperation, said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who was also part of the team.

Mr. Xi said that as global changes unseen in a century are unfolding at a quicker pace, a strong China-Pakistan relationship is conducive to safeguarding regional peace and development.

The two sides should accelerate building an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era, to bring more benefits to the two peoples and set up a model for the broader neighbourhood, he said.

China stands ready to work with Pakistan to build upgraded versions of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, and hopes Pakistan will take effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan, Mr. Xi was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

On his part, Mr. Sharif hailed the Global Governance Initiative (GGI), proposed by Xi at the SCO summit to improve global governance, saying it is of great significance for world peace, development and stability, and Pakistan will give it full support and work actively to implement it.

Pakistan firmly sticks to the one-China principle, and looks forward to further strengthening friendship between the two countries and advancing cooperation in all fields, said Mr. Sharif, promising to spare no effort in ensuring the safety of all Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan.