The China Mail - At US-Iran talks, Pakistan's field marshal takes centre stage

The image illustrated what many experts say is Field Marshal Asim Munir's growing role at the centre of Pakistan's foreign relations.

"He is a soldier, a statesman and a diplomat," Islamabad-based political analyst Qamar Cheema told AFP. "Munir has created a momentum for Pakistan at a global level to change Pakistan's perception."

Pakistan's push to get Iran and the United States to the negotiating table for their highest-level face-to-face talks in decades to end weeks of war has garnered international praise -- and some surprise.

In Islamabad, Munir was at the centre of the action -- greeting both delegations on their arrival and displaying remarkable bonhomie with Vance.

During the historic face-to-face trilateral talks, Munir and Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar helped "mediate" the talks, as per the civilian official.

It is a long way to have come for a country that has had a stop-start alliance with Washington, which has often admonished Islamabad when military leaders have toppled civilian governments -- even as it has worked with them.

US President Donald Trump frequently refers to Munir as his "favourite field marshal", after a rapport built during US efforts to defuse a short but intense armed conflict between Pakistan and rival India last year.

Pakistan heaped praise on Trump in the wake of that conflict, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. India has downplayed any US involvement in resolving the crisis.

This weekend's marathon talks ended with Vance announcing he was leaving without a deal, but Pakistan said it would continue to facilitate dialogue.

"Field Marshal Munir through tireless effort, played a key and historic role in extinguishing the flames of war and in bringing both parties to the negotiating table," Sharif said in a televised address a few hours before the talks began.

- 'Hands-on' role -

Munir's rise to represent his country's interests on the global stage has coincided with a consolidation of military power in Pakistan, which has seen the field marshal given unprecedented legal immunity and an extended term. The military as a whole has taken a more prominent role in governance.

Critics and the political opposition say the moves and sweeping constitutional reforms have eroded democracy in the country, with former premier Imran Khan -- who has been outspoken against the military he had earlier worked closely with -- now jailed.

The military has repeatedly denied involvement in Khan's legal cases or meddling in the civilian domain.

"The military now has the deepest ever penetration and control of the economy and judiciary," said Shuja Nawaz, Atlantic Council fellow and author of "The Battle for Pakistan: The Bitter US Friendship and a Tough Neighbourhood".

Pakistan has been directly ruled by its military for nearly half its existence via a series of coups since gaining independence in 1947.

Under both civilian and military governments, foreign affairs has traditionally been considered a domain of interest for Pakistan's military.

Foreign diplomats and dignitaries have long seen a meeting with the military chief in the garrison city of Rawalpindi near the capital to be a key item on their schedules.

Munir, a former intelligence chief, took up his tenure as army chief in 2022 with a lower profile in the diplomatic community than his loquacious predecessor General Qamar Javed Bajwa -- an impression that has since changed in key capitals.

"Field Marshal Asim Munir appears to be far more hands-on in matters of governance and foreign policy than his predecessors," Nawaz told AFP.

"He has proven his ability as an influencer on the global stage largely by his ability to make coherent arguments for Pakistan," he said, adding the close ties Munir had nurtured with regional heavyweights Iran and Saudi Arabia had impressed Trump.

Munir accompanied Sharif during a visit to Washington in June, lunching with Trump.

That meeting led to the burgeoning relationship between the Pakistani military leader and Trump, who told media "they know Iran very well, better than most" when asked if he'd asked Munir for advice on Iran and Israel, who were then locked in an earlier conflict and trading strikes.

"Asim Munir's diplomatic status was boosted by the war with India primarily and then his outreach in Washington DC," said Hassan Abbas, a Pakistani-American author of several books on the region's politics and security.

"His pictures and his lunch meeting with President Trump was the factor that changed his international profile," he said.

As the US and Iranian delegations left Pakistan, Munir was once again on the tarmac to see off the visitors.

They may not have reached a deal, but both thanked their hosts profusely -- especially Field Marshal Munir.

K.Leung--ThChM