Asim Munir Becomes Pakistan's 2nd Field Marshal. First One Became A Dictator

The Pakistani government on Tuesday promoted its current army chief, General Asim Munir, to the rank of Field Marshal. This was only the second time in the country's history that the title was bestowed upon someone. The decision came in the aftermath of heightened tensions and a military standoff with India following the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.

General Munir's promotion brings back memories of Pakistan's first and only other Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan, who rose to absolute power more than six decades ago. Unlike Munir's promotion, which was sanctioned by the government, Ayub Khan self-appointed himself to the rank following a military coup.

On October 7, 1958, Pakistan was grappling with political chaos. Frequent government changes, corruption, and rising public frustration had weakened civilian institutions. President Iskander Mirza, aiming to restore order, declared martial law and appointed General Ayub Khan, then the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, as Chief Martial Law Administrator.

Only 20 days later, Ayub Khan turned against Iskander Mirza.

On the evening of October 27, 1958, the President and his handpicked Chief Martial Law Administrator were seen sipping tea together in front of news cameras. Smiling, joking, and even sharing lighthearted banter, Iskander Mirza teased Ayub Khan about squinting under the newsreel lights. "You have got to learn to be an actor," he told Khan.

What he didn't know was that Ayub Khan had already mastered the role. 

Barely two and a half hours after the media session, at around midnight, three high-ranking generals arrived unannounced at the Presidential Palace in Karachi. They informed Mirza that they were acting on Ayub Khan's orders.

The message was: Resign, or be removed by force.

Faced with no viable alternative, Iskander Mirza acquiesced, saying, "If it is in the interest of the country for me to resign, I will do so."

He signed his resignation under pressure, making way for Ayub Khan to become the new President of Pakistan. This was the country's first full military takeover.

Following his resignation, Mirza was escorted to Quetta and subsequently exiled to London, where he lived until his death in 1969.

A year later, in 1959, Ayub Khan awarded himself the rank of Field Marshal, the highest position in the Pakistan Army. This was a title typically reserved for leaders with major wartime victories or long-standing military service in other nations. In Pakistan's case, however, it was self-declared, with no precedent and little resistance from the rubber-stamp political system Ayub Khan had created.

For the next 11 years, Ayub Khan ruled Pakistan with an iron fist, introducing economic reforms, infrastructure projects, and aligning the country closely with the United States and China during the Cold War. His rule also saw the signing of the Indus Waters Treaty with India and the 1965 war, after which his popularity began to decline.

In 1969, amid growing unrest and protests, especially from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), Ayub Khan resigned and handed over power to another general, Yahya Khan, and left politics.