Where is Pakistan COAS General Asim Munir?

Speculation surrounds the UK-visit of Pakistan’s Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), General Asim Munir after prominent social media handles said that the general is in the USA after a day’s halt in the UK.

Former Pakistani army officer Adil Raja set off speculation after posting satellite photographs of the general’s flight route. In pointers, Raja tweeted that the Pakistani COAS’s “Gulfstream GL4 takes off from Rawalpindi on Feb 5 and reaches London. No call sign, and no tail number… Same GL4 without a call sign and tail number takes off the next day from London on Feb 6 and flies to the USA… GL4 goes off the radar after entering the US airspace… Same GL4 appears on the radar again while landing at Teterboro airport, New Jersey”.

Even as speculation mounted about the whereabouts of the Pakistani general, journalist Syed Talat Hussain prompted the government to come out with an official statement, adding a China twist to the mystery. Hussain said: “Strategic-level lies. We are told this is Fake News. Astounding audacity. Needs an official statement to set the record straight and to calm nerves all around, including China”.

Spokesperson for the Pakistani armed forces, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) waived off the speculations over Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Munir’s presence in the US by calling these “baseless”.

In a series of tweets, the ISPR said: “There have been baseless speculations on social media that COAS is visiting USA. It is categorically stated that COAS is on an official visit to UK from 5th to 10th February in connection with 5th Pakistan-UK Stabilisation Conference… Which is a bi-annual event for military to military cooperation between the two countries. Senior Pakistan military leadership has been participating in the event since 2016”.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs too denied the allegations. Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said: “We are not aware of the army chief’s trip to the US. ISPR could inform better on this matter”.

However, an official of the British government confirmed over Twitter that the Pakistani army chief had not only arrived in the country, and had landed in style for a conference on international security environment.

The Pakistani army chief’s visit to the UK is being viewed as important because it comes in the backdrop of militant group Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) or Pakistan Taliban’s rising attacks on Pakistani security forces. In one of the largest attacks in Pakistan in recent years, the group blew up a mosque in Peshawar in the high-security police lines killing 101 people, mostly policemen.

In a direct challenge to Pakistan, the TTP has even announced forming a parallel government in the country. The group which operates along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border announced its government in the northern parts of Pakistan, setting up various ministries – Defence, Judiciary, Information, Political affairs, Economic Affairs, Education, Intelligence, a department for construction as well as one for issuing fatwa also.

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