Has Gen Asim Munir Gone Into Hiding? Speculation Grows On Social Media Amidst Rising India-Pakistan Tensions
Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack, intense speculation had surrounded the whereabouts of Pakistan’s Army Chief, General Syed Asim Munir. As war rhetoric from Pakistani leaders escalated in response to New Delhi’s diplomatic offensive, several reports emerged suggesting that General Munir had gone “MIA” (Missing in Action) or was hiding in a bunker in Rawalpindi.
As soon as these rumours floods the social media the Pakistan government sought to disrupt them on Sunday by releasing a photograph of General Munir alongside Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at an official event in Abbottabad.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir (NIM) and officers of PMA Kakul in a group photo with the graduating officers of 151st Long Course at PMA Kakul, Abbottabad. April 26, 2025,” the caption read.
The date mention in caption of this pictures was seen as a deliberate move to dismiss the swirling speculations regarding the Army Chief’s missing status.
The backdrop to this controversy has been a surge in anxiety within Pakistan's military establishment following India’s strong response to the Pahalgam terror strike. Reports indicate that General Asim Munir has relocated his family abroad, and several senior officers of the Pakistan Army have also reportedly sent their families to safe locations in Britain and New Jersey via private jets.
Meanwhile, Indian security forces intensified operations across Kashmir on Friday, conducting extensive searches in homes and forested areas for militants. The security sweep followed the horrific attack earlier in the week, which left 26 people dead — mostly tourists, including two foreign nationals — marking the deadliest civilian assault in the region in nearly two decades.
Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours have soared to alarming levels, with India directly implicating cross-border elements in the Pahalgam attack. On April 23, New Delhi announced a series of punitive measures against Islamabad, the most significant of which was the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, a historic agreement regulating river water sharing between the two countries.
The move sparked outrage among Pakistan's political leadership, with one minister going as far as to threaten India with nuclear strikes.
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