Military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has rubbished rumours of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir becoming the president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His statement follows a similar rebuttal<\/a> by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi early in July, when he clarified that no idea existed \u201cabout the president being asked to resign or the COAS aspiring to assume the presidency\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gen Chaudhry, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general, told The Economist<\/a><\/em> that \u201ctalk of his boss becoming president is \u2018nonsense\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Economist<\/em> noted that COAS Munir\u2019s popularity has surged since the May conflict with India<\/a>. It added that the ruling coalition\u2019s recently acquired<\/a> two-thirds majority in the parliament needed for a Constitutional Amendment \u201cignited rumours that the army chief could become president too\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government<\/a>, as well as the military, have repeatedly<\/a> warned about \u201cfake news and propaganda<\/a>\u201d proliferating on social media, with Gen Chaudhry saying that not enough was being done against \u201cdigital terrorism<\/a>\u201d under the laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On July 10, Naqvi asserted that President Asif Ali Zardari \u201cenjoys a strong and respectful relationship with the leadership of the armed forces\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He quoted the president as having \u201cclearly\u201d stated: \u201cI know who is spreading these falsehoods, why they are doing so, and who stands to benefit from this propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Naqvi stressed that the \u201csole focus\u201d of COAS Munir was Pakistan\u2019s strength and stability, and \u201cnothing else\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In May, President Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formally decorated COAS Munir with the rank of field marshal<\/a> for his \u201csagacious leadership and exceptional strategy\u201d during the recent conflict with India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rank of field marshal is the highest rank of armies built on the pattern of the British Army. It has only been awarded to one other \u2014 Gen Ayub Khan \u2014 by the presidential cabinet in 1959. It is a ceremonial five-star rank that usually signifies extraordinary leadership and wartime achievement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a subsequent dinner<\/a> hosted by the army chief, Field Marshal Munir lauded the political leadership for their \u201cstrategic foresight\u201d during Marka-i-Haq<\/a> against India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n