https://www.scmp.com/rss/524481/feed The latest news and updates on Asim Munir, a distinguished military officer, he currently serves as Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, a role he assumed in November 2022. Recently promoted to Field Marshal in May 2025, he is only the second in Pakistan’s history to achieve this five-star rank, reflecting his strategic leadership. His extensive career includes heading both Military Intelligence and the Inter-Services Intelligence, commanding XXX Corps, and serving as Quartermaster General. Known for... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Orange Wang,Vanessa Cai Orange Wang,Vanessa Cai As the United States and Iran agree to a two-week ceasefire, Pakistan’s strongman military chief is emerging as a major diplomatic player on the international stage. When announcing the truce, both US President Donald Trump and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi expressed appreciation for the diplomatic efforts of Asim Munir. Munir, who last year became Pakistan’s first ever chief of defence forces, is widely seen as the most powerful man in the country. According to one prominent Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349427/iran-deal-pakistans-strongman-munir-cements-his-role-global-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349427/iran-deal-pakistans-strongman-munir-cements-his-role-global-diplomacy?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:18:22 +0000 Shi Jiangtao Shi Jiangtao As US President Donald Trump’s Tuesday deadline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz approached, Pakistan put forward a fresh proposal for an immediate ceasefire on Monday, offering what one analyst described as “a critical opportunity” for talks. The plan was brokered through overnight contacts between Pakistani army chief Asim Munir, US officials including Vice-President J.D. Vance and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to Reuters. It called for an immediate halt to hostilities... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349189/pakistans-peace-plan-critical-opportunity-us-iran-talks-ahead-trump-deadline?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349189/pakistans-peace-plan-critical-opportunity-us-iran-talks-ahead-trump-deadline?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Apr 2026 13:20:54 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji While the Iran war has sent shock waves through energy markets across Asia, one corner of the region has been hit especially hard. South Asia’s reliance on Middle Eastern fuel and Gulf remittances threatens to push some of its most exposed economies to the brink, analysts warn, as the conflict drives energy and food costs to multi-year highs. For Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan, whose International Monetary Fund bailout programmes and thin fiscal buffers limit their ability to shield citizens... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3348974/why-war-iran-threatens-unleash-unrest-south-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3348974/why-war-iran-threatens-unleash-unrest-south-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Apr 2026 05:30:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Iran’s president said on Saturday that a demand by the United States for an unconditional surrender is a “dream that they should take to their grave”. President Masoud Pezeshkian made the statement in a pre-recorded address aired by state television. He also apologised for Iran’s attacks on regional countries, saying that Tehran would halt them and suggesting they were caused by miscommunication in the ranks. He blamed the killing of the country’s supreme leader and other top officials for what... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345818/iran-defies-us-demands-surrender-apologises-strikes-neighbours?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345818/iran-defies-us-demands-surrender-apologises-strikes-neighbours?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Mar 2026 10:18:45 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A suicide bomber backed by a group of gunmen rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the wall of a security post after troops signalled for it to stop in a former Pakistani Taliban stronghold in northwestern Pakistan, causing part of the compound to collapse and killing 11 soldiers and a child, the military and police said on Tuesday. The military said in a statement that the attackers had sought to breach the checkpoint overnight but were thwarted by security forces. It said troops later pursued... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3343839/11-soldiers-1-child-killed-pakistan-after-explosive-laden-vehicle-rams-security-post?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3343839/11-soldiers-1-child-killed-pakistan-after-explosive-laden-vehicle-rams-security-post?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2026 12:44:11 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan Despite a high-level phone call between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, 2025 is likely to end without the long-promised US-India trade deal, as the “America first” leader continues to stall the agreement while working to cement improved ties with Beijing. The call came just days after Modi hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin. While the Indian Prime Minister described his conversation with Trump as “warm and engaging” in a social media post,... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3336135/trump-and-modi-have-warm-phone-call-2025-unlikely-end-trade-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3336135/trump-and-modi-have-warm-phone-call-2025-unlikely-end-trade-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2025 23:00:52 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg The US is seeking to expand its strategic relationship with Pakistan but those ties do not come at the expense of Washington’s relations with India, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said. Just like India had ties with countries that the US did not, the vice versa applies, Rubio told reporters on board a flight to Doha. “It’s part of a mature, pragmatic foreign policy,” he said on Saturday. “I don’t think anything we’re doing with Pakistan comes at the expense of our relationship or friendship... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3330440/us-pakistan-ties-not-expense-india-rubio?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3330440/us-pakistan-ties-not-expense-india-rubio?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Oct 2025 06:28:51 +0000 Richard Heydarian Richard Heydarian In a fast and furious year of devastating wars and high-stakes diplomacy, the historic meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stands out as a potential harbinger of a new global order. In his first visit to China in seven years, Modi agreed with Xi that Asia’s two powers should be “partners” rather than “rivals”, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin. Modi stressed that “their differences should not turn into... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3328544/why-india-hedging-its-bets-another-china-charm-offensive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3328544/why-india-hedging-its-bets-another-china-charm-offensive?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Oct 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow The United States is likely to seriously consider Pakistan’s proposal for a new port in the Arabian Sea and use it to ship the South Asian country’s rare minerals, even as observers warn of commercial and geopolitical risks of investing in a volatile region. Advisers to Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir have approached US officials regarding the proposal for American investors to build and run the port in Pakistan, according to a Financial Times report last week. Located in Gwadar... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328622/will-plan-port-pakistan-us-involvement-fuel-regional-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3328622/will-plan-port-pakistan-us-involvement-fuel-regional-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Oct 2025 09:00:08 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan India’s Air Force chief on Friday claimed the military destroyed both Chinese-made jets and US-built F-16s during clashes with Pakistan earlier this year, offering New Delhi’s first detailed account of its rival’s losses. “As far as air defence is concerned, we have evidence of one long-range strike … along with that five fighters, hi-tech fighters between F-16 and JF-17 class, our system tells,” Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh told reporters, referring to the four days of fighting in May... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3327849/india-says-it-destroyed-pakistans-chinese-and-us-made-fighter-jets-may-clashes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3327849/india-says-it-destroyed-pakistans-chinese-and-us-made-fighter-jets-may-clashes?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Oct 2025 17:23:44 +0000 Reuters Reuters Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan signed a mutual defence pact late on Wednesday, significantly strengthening a decades-old security partnership a week after Israel’s strikes on Qatar upended the diplomatic calculus in the region. The enhanced defence ties come as Gulf Arab states grow increasingly wary about the reliability of the United States as their long-standing security guarantor. Israel’s attack on Qatar last week heightened those concerns. Asked whether Pakistan would now be... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3325923/saudi-arabia-and-pakistan-sign-defence-pact-amid-growing-wariness-over-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3325923/saudi-arabia-and-pakistan-sign-defence-pact-amid-growing-wariness-over-us?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Sep 2025 21:09:03 +0000 Hao Nan Hao Nan At first glance, US President Donald Trump’s renewed “America first” agenda seems aimed at the heart of the Brics bloc of developing nations. With threats of punitive tariffs and direct provocations, Trump has positioned Brics as a target in his second term. Yet rather than splitting the bloc apart, his aggressive policies are fortifying it. Since returning to power, Trump has vowed to punish countries trying to create an alternative to the US dollar, including a threat of 100 per cent tariffs... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3321580/how-trumps-anti-brics-crusade-giving-bloc-new-strength-and-meaning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3321580/how-trumps-anti-brics-crusade-giving-bloc-new-strength-and-meaning?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Aug 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Junaid Kathju Junaid Kathju An unexpected resurgence in ties between the United States and Pakistan amid Washington’s simmering tensions with India has turned the tables in the dynamics between the three nations, according to observers. US President Donald Trump last week imposed a 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from India, on top of a “penalty” import tax, citing New Delhi’s trade barriers and continued purchases of Russian oil and weapons. Hours after the announcement, the American leader revealed a “massive” oil... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3320578/trumps-pakistan-pivot-redefines-us-india-dynamics-no-permanent-friends?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3320578/trumps-pakistan-pivot-redefines-us-india-dynamics-no-permanent-friends?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Aug 2025 09:00:09 +0000 Enoch Wong Enoch Wong Images circulating online suggest Pakistan’s military has received a shipment of Chinese-made advanced attack helicopters, a version of which has been deployed by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) near China’s mountainous border with India. In the past week, photos and videos of the Z-10ME, the export version of the Chinese multirole attack helicopter, have appeared on Pakistani social media accounts. On Tuesday, a social media user believed to be an active-duty member of the Pakistan Army... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3320541/will-chinese-z-10me-attack-helicopters-now-power-pakistan-air-force?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3320541/will-chinese-z-10me-attack-helicopters-now-power-pakistan-air-force?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Aug 2025 14:00:09 +0000 Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan The recent White House lunch date between Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and US President Donald Trump was a renewal of high-level US-Pakistani engagement that suggested a potential rebalancing of US priorities in South Asia. The visit, closely watched by stakeholders in South Asia and observers of Washington’s policy on the region, has raised questions about the future of the US-India strategic partnership – particularly as US-China tensions appear to be easing and Trump seems... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3316227/us-shift-towards-pakistan-may-unsettle-india-and-south-asia-balance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3316227/us-shift-towards-pakistan-may-unsettle-india-and-south-asia-balance?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Jun 2025 12:30:08 +0000