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Chief of the Army Staff (Pakistan)

Professional head of the Pakistan Army

Field	Value
post	Chief
body	the Army Staff
insignia	Pakistan Army Emblem (2025).png
insigniasize	100px
insigniacaption	Chief of the Army Staff's Emblem
flag	Flag of the Chief of the Army Staff (Pakistan).svg
flagborder	yes
flagcaption	Flag of the Chief of the Army Staff
incumbent	Field Marshal
Asim Munir
image	Field Marshal Asim Munir.jpg
incumbentsince	29 November 2022
department
status	Professional head of land forces branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces
abbreviation	COAS
member_of	Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
National Security Council
Special Investment Facilitation Council
residence	General Headquarters (Rawalpindi Cantonment)
seat	Rawalpindi, Punjab
reports_to	[[File:Flag of the President of Pakistan.svg	20px]] President of Pakistan
[[File:Flag of the Prime Minister of Pakistan.svg	20px]] Prime Minister of Pakistan
[[File:State emblem of Pakistan.svg	20px]] Minister of Defence
appointer	President of Pakistan
nominator	Prime Minister of Pakistan
termlength	5 years
termlength_qualified	(renewable once)
constituting_instrument	Constitution of Pakistan (Article 243)
precursor	Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army
formation
first	Tikka Khan
succession	Subjected to nomination by the Prime Minister
unofficial_names	Army Chief
deputy	Chief of the General Staff
salary	According to Pakistan military officer's pay grade (apex scale)
website	Official website

Asim Munir National Security Council Special Investment Facilitation Council

The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) is a statutory position in the Pakistan Army held by its professional head, which is usually a four-star general, appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's nomination. The COAS serves ex officio as the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), the professional head of the Pakistan Armed Forces. As the highest-ranking officer, it is the most powerful position in the land army; and due to the influence of the military, the position is seen as the most powerful office in the country.

This is the senior-most appointment in the army and the officeholder serves as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, usually consulting the chiefs of the aerial and naval branches to act as a military adviser to the Prime Minister and the federal government in the line of defending the land borders of the country. The Chief of the Army Staff exercises responsibility of command and control of the operational, combatant, logistics, and training commands within the army.

The appointment, in principle, is constitutionally subjected to be for 5 years after the approval by the President on the recommendations of the Prime Minister. The COAS is based in the General Headquarters within the Rawalpindi Cantonment in Rawalpindi, Punjab. The incumbent COAS is Field Marshal Asim Munir, serving in this capacity since 29 November 2022.

Office of the Chief of the Army Staff

The designation of the Chief of the Army Staff was created from the previous title Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army in 1972. The Prime Minister approves the nomination and appointment of the Chief of Army Staff, with President confirming the Prime Minister's appointed choosing and nomination.

The army leadership is based in the GHQ whose functions are supervised by the Chief of Army Staff, assisted by the civilians from the Army Secretariat of the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The Chief of Army Staff exercises the responsibility of complete operational, training and logistics commands.

Typically, the Chief of Army Staff is a four-star full general. However, two Chiefs of Army Staff— Ayub Khan and Syed Asim Munir— were promoted to the five-star field marshal rank.

There are several principle staff officers (PSO) who assist in running the operations of the Army GHQ:

Chief of General Staff
Chief of Logistics Staff
Inspector-General of Training and Evaluation (IGT&E)
Inspector-General Communications and IT (IGC&IT)
Inspector-General Arms (IG Arms)
Engineer in Chief (E-in-C)
Military Secretary (Mil Secy)
Adjutant-General
Quartermaster General (QMG)

List of Chiefs of the Army Staff

Notes

References

Hussain, Abid. (2025-05-21). "Pakistan promotes army chief Asim Munir to field marshal: Why it matters".
(19 August 2019). "Pakistan Extends Term For Powerful Army Chief". Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.
(27 November 2013). "Lt Gen Raheel appointed as new COAS, Lt Gen Rashad as CJCSC". The News.
Ellis-Petersen, Hannah. (2025-05-10). "Who is Gen Asim Munir, the army chief leading Pakistan’s military amid India crisis?". The Guardian.
Leahy, Joe. (2025-06-18). "Pakistan’s strongman courts US while drawing closer to China". Financial Times.
Masood, Salman. (2025-05-05). "Pakistan’s Most Powerful Man Steps Out of the Shadows to Confront India". The New York Times.
(2003). "Command and Structure control of the Pakistan Army". PakDef Military Consortium.
(6 October 2013). "Will retire on November 29, Kayani confirms". The Express Tribune.
(2022-11-29). "Gen Bajwa to hand over command to Gen Munir today".
"Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa to hand over command to Gen Syed Asim Munir shortly".
(26 November 2016). "Pakistan PM Sharif names General Bajwa as new army chief".
"Organogram of MoD". Ministry of Defence Press.
(2009). "Pakistan Intelligence, Security Activities and Operations Handbook - Strategic Information and Developments". Lulu.com.

Info: Wikipedia Source

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