Pakistan’s top military commander stresses agility in modern warfare during visit to frontline garrisons

Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir observes warefare prepardness at Gujranwala and Sialkot Garrisons on December 13, 2025. (ISPR)
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Updated 13 December 2025
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Pakistan’s top military commander stresses agility in modern warfare during visit to frontline garrisons

  • Field Marshal Asim Munir reviews field drills and simulator training in Gujranwala and Sialkot, praising high readiness levels
  • ISPR video shows the field marshal observing tank and drone maneuvers as he warns of hybrid and extremist threats to stability

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir said on Saturday modern warfare requires agility, precision and situational awareness as he visited the Gujranwala and Sialkot Garrisons, where he interacted with officers and soldiers and observed their combat readiness.

The two cities sit close to the border with India, giving them strategic importance, particularly after a brief but intense military clash between the nuclear-armed rivals in May.

The conflict was sparked when India launched missile strikes on Pakistani cities, saying it was targeting “terror infrastructure” after blaming Islamabad for a gun attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, though Pakistan had denied involvement and demanded an impartial international probe.

Both sides exchanged missiles and artillery fire and deployed fighter aircraft and drones during four days of hostilities before a US-brokered ceasefire halted the escalation.

“The Field Marshal witnessed field training exercise and advanced simulator training facility, lauding the formation’s high professional standards and overall state of readiness,” the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement.

“Emphasizing the significance of technological adaptability, he noted that modern warfare demands agility, precision, situational awareness and swift decision-making,” it added.

A video released by ISPR showed Munir watching a military demonstration involving tanks and drones.

During his interaction with troops, Munir praised their morale and commitment to national defense.

He said the Pakistan Army remained fully focused on internal and external challenges, including “hostile hybrid campaigns, extremist ideologies, and divisive elements seeking to undermine national stability.”


Sindh assembly passes resolution rejecting move to separate Karachi

Updated 21 February 2026
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Sindh assembly passes resolution rejecting move to separate Karachi

  • Chief Minister Shah cites constitutional safeguards against altering provincial boundaries
  • Calls to separate Karachi intensified amid governance concerns after a mall fire last month

ISLAMABAD: The provincial assembly of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Saturday passed a resolution rejecting any move to separate Karachi, declaring its territorial integrity “non-negotiable” amid political calls to carve the city out as a separate administrative unit.

The resolution comes after fresh demands by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and other voices to grant Karachi provincial or federal status following governance challenges highlighted by the deadly Gul Plaza fire earlier this year that killed 80 people.

Karachi, Pakistan’s largest and most densely populated city, is the country’s main commercial hub and contributes a significant share to the national economy.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah tabled the resolution in the assembly, condemning what he described as “divisive statements” about breaking up Sindh or detaching Karachi.

“The province that played a foundational role in the creation of Pakistan cannot allow the fragmentation of its own historic homeland,” Shah told lawmakers, adding that any attempt to divide Sindh or separate Karachi was contrary to the constitution and democratic norms.

Citing Article 239 of Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution, which requires the consent of not less than two-thirds of a provincial assembly to alter provincial boundaries, Shah said any such move could not proceed without the assembly’s approval.

“If any such move is attempted, it is this Assembly — by a two-thirds majority — that will decide,” he said.

The resolution reaffirmed that Karachi would “forever remain” an integral part of Sindh and directed the provincial government to forward the motion to the president, prime minister and parliamentary leadership for record.

Shah said the resolution was not aimed at anyone but referred to the shifting stance of MQM in the debate while warning that opposing the resolution would amount to supporting the division of Sindh.

The party has been a major political force in Karachi with a significant vote bank in the city and has frequently criticized Shah’s provincial administration over its governance of Pakistan’s largest metropolis.

Taha Ahmed Khan, a senior MQM leader, acknowledged that his party had “presented its demand openly on television channels with clear and logical arguments” to separate Karachi from Sindh.

“It is a purely constitutional debate,” he told Arab News by phone. “We are aware that the Pakistan Peoples Party, which rules the province, holds a two-thirds majority and that a new province cannot be created at this stage. But that does not mean new provinces can never be formed.”

Calls to alter Karachi’s status have periodically surfaced amid longstanding complaints over governance, infrastructure and administrative control in the megacity, though no formal proposal to redraw provincial boundaries has been introduced at the federal level.