Trump’s favorite field marshal: Who is Pakistan’s powerful army chief Asim Munir with deep intel ties

President Donald Trump publically thanked what helium called Pakistan’s "great premier curate and tract marshal, 2 fantastic people!!!" successful a Truth Social station Friday praising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan’s subject chief, Asim Munir.

Sharif rapidly responded connected X, "On behalf of the radical of Pakistan, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and connected my behalf, I explicit my heavy and profound appreciation for your benignant and gracious words."

The nationalist speech capped a singular emergence for Munir, who has go 1 of the fewer overseas officials trusted some by Trump and by Iran’s information establishment.

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Vice President JD Vance walks with Pakistan's Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, U.S. Embassy Charge d'Affaires Natalie A. Baker, and Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi aft arriving for talks with Iranian officials successful Islamabad, Pakistan, April 11, 2026. (Jacquelyn Martin/Reuters)

Munir precocious became the archetypal overseas subject person to sojourn Iran since the latest escalation betwixt the United States and Iran, according to Pakistani and Iranian reports. Arriving successful afloat subject uniform, helium was warmly greeted by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and held meetings with elder Iranian subject officials.

Retired Pakistani Gen. Ahmed Saeed told Fox News Digital that Munir has for months served arsenic an informal backmost transmission betwixt Washington and Tehran, Iran, arsenic the Trump medication tries to negociate an extremity to the conflict, Iran’s atomic programme and the naval blockade successful the Persian Gulf.

Few overseas figures look to person person ties some to Trump and to Iran’s subject hierarchy.

That has raised a striking question: How did the aforesaid antheral go adjacent some to Trump and to immoderate of Iran’s astir almighty commanders?

Saeed, who said helium has known Munir personally for years, told Fox News Digital that Munir began gathering ties with Iran portion serving arsenic Pakistan’s manager wide of subject quality successful 2016 and 2017.

"He has been interacting with the leadership. He has been interacting with the quality community. He has been interacting with the IRGC," oregon the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Saeed said.

According to Saeed, Munir built ties not lone with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps but besides with Iran’s regular service and quality apparatus. Saeed said Munir had longstanding interaction with erstwhile Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commandant Qassem Soleimani, who was killed successful a U.S. onslaught successful 2020, commandant Hossein Salami, who was killed successful an Israeli onslaught successful June 2025, and different Iranian subject figures.

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Few overseas figures look to person person ties some to Trump and to Iran’s subject hierarchy.  (Iranian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"He continues to beryllium a fig internationally who has idiosyncratic interactions, a idiosyncratic equation successful the quality assemblage successful Iran, successful the subject hierarchy successful Iran, successful the diplomatic corps of Iran and besides connected the broadside of the governmental leadership," Saeed said.

That longstanding narration appears to explicate wherefore Iran welcomed him truthful warmly, adjacent arsenic helium remains successful nonstop interaction with Trump and his team.

Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Bill Roggio told Fox News Digital that, "Trump should not spot the Pakistanis. Pakistan was a perfidious ‘ally’ successful Afghanistan, backing the Taliban portion pretending to beryllium our friends. Munir’s ties to the IRGC should beryllium a monolithic reddish emblem for the Trump admin."

Munir’s narration with Trump dates backmost to the India–Pakistan situation of May 2025. Munir played a cardinal relation successful helping de-escalate the confrontation, and afterward Pakistan formally nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, a determination wide viewed by Pakistani analysts arsenic encouraged by Munir.

Pakistan's Asim Munir has go 1 of the fewer overseas officials trusted by some President Donald Trump and Iran's information establishment, according to Pakistani analysts and officials. (Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Since then, Trump repeatedly has praised him. Trump has called Munir an "exceptional man," a "great fighter" and "my favourite tract marshal." 

Pakistani officials and media reports accidental the 2 men present talk directly.

Pakistani expert Raza Rumi told Fox News Digital that Munir’s entreaty to Trump is not surprising.

"Trump has agelong shown a penchant for strong, decisive leaders," Rumi said. "Munir fits that mold arsenic a centralized authorization fig who tin present outcomes."

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Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were greeted by Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Army Chief Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir upon their accomplishment astatine Nur Khan airbase successful Rawalpindi, Pakistan, April 11, 2026. (Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs/AP)

Rumi described Munir arsenic "a disciplined, institution-first person with a beardown accent connected order, hierarchy and strategical clarity."

"Unlike much publically charismatic subject figures, his benignant is comparatively understated, shaped by quality enactment and operational acquisition alternatively than overt governmental signaling," Rumi said.

Munir’s inheritance helps explicate some his benignant and his influence.

Munir studied astatine the Fuji School successful Japan, the Command and Staff College successful Quetta, the Malaysian Armed Forces College successful Kuala Lumpur, and Pakistan’s National Defence University, wherever helium earned an maestro of doctrine grade n nationalist argumentation and strategical information management, according to Pakistan’s Geo News. Munir was the archetypal service main successful Pakistan to person the Sword of Honour, the military’s highest favoritism for a cadet. The outlet besides described him arsenic an avid reader, traveler and sportsman.

Munir is besides a Hafiz-e-Quran, meaning helium has memorized the full Quran by heart.

A erstwhile caput of some Pakistan’s Military Intelligence and Inter-Services Intelligence agencies, Munir spent years overseeing Pakistan’s astir delicate determination relationships, including with Iran, Afghanistan and India.

TRUMP AGREES TO 2-WEEK CEASEFIRE IF IRAN OPENS STRAIT OF HORMUZ

Vice President JD Vance shakes hands with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar successful Islamabad connected April 12, 2026, aft talks connected Iran. Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Chief of Defence Forces Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir, and U.S. Embassy Charge d'Affaires Natalie A. Baker look connected arsenic Vance prepares to committee Air Force Two. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

In 2025, aft the India-Pakistan crisis, helium was elevated to tract marshal, the archetypal Pakistani serviceman to clasp the fertile since erstwhile subject ruler Ayub Khan.

Pakistani officials accidental that aboriginal that year, helium besides was fixed the recently created rubric of main of defence forces, further cementing his authorization supra the country’s subject branches.

Munir seldom gives interviews, but his speeches connection clues to his worldview.

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A erstwhile caput of some Pakistan’s Military Intelligence and Inter-Services Intelligence agencies, Munir spent years overseeing Pakistan’s astir delicate determination relationships, including with Iran, Afghanistan and India. (Iranian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

At the Margalla Dialogue successful Islamabad successful November 2024, helium warned that "absence of due regulations for state of look is starring to the deterioration of motivation values successful societies worldwide."

The remark reflected a broader accent connected order, subject and centralized authority.

Rumi said Munir operates from "a transactional, state-centric worldview alternatively than an ideological one."

Yet critics reason that his emergence has travel astatine a outgo to Pakistan’s democracy.

After becoming service main successful 2022, Munir focused heavy connected home politics, including what critics described arsenic a crackdown connected governmental absorption and an unprecedented attraction of subject power, according to The Guardian, which reported that cardinal negotiations with the United States and Iran person been coordinated not from Islamabad, Pakistan’s civilian capital, but from Rawalpindi, the office of the military.

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A breached framework of Pakistan's tract marshal and service chief, Asim Munir, hangs connected the partition aft an onslaught astatine the Cadet College Wana, a military-linked school, successful the South Waziristan territory adjacent the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Nov. 13, 2025.  (Aamir Qureshi / AFP via Getty Images)

Critics accidental that reflects a broader reality: Pakistan’s overseas argumentation is progressively being tally by the service alternatively than the elected government.

Rumi said Munir’s emergence reflects "the subject progressively eclipsing civilian enactment successful Pakistan."

As the existent negotiations continue, overmuch appears to remainder connected Munir. Saeed said that is due to the fact that Munir has spent years gathering spot connected some sides and is improbable to halt now.

"Knowing our tract marshal, and from my ain idiosyncratic cognition of him, helium is relentless. He would not springiness up," Saeed said.