The Pakistani Armed Forces, born from the partition of British India in 1947, have undergone a profound ideological transformation — from a colonial military institution rooted in secular professionalism to one increasingly defined by Islamic identity. Under General Asim Munir, the current Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), this decades-long trend of Islamisation appears to have consolidated further, with religious symbolism now embedded in doctrine, official terminology, and public military discourse.

Colonial Roots and Early Ideological Reconfiguration

The nascent Pakistani state inherited the Muslim segment of the British Indian Army following partition. While India opted for secular democracy, Pakistan emerged as a state where the military wielded significant power. Ayub Khan, who became the first native Pakistani Commander-in-Chief in 1951, was initially less sympathetic toward religion as an ideological force, firmly rooted in the colonial framework.

However, a new generation of nationalist officers gradually pushed the army to claim continuity with an Islamic past. Figures such as Khalid ibn al-Walid, Salahuddin Ayyubi, and Tariq ibn Ziyad, as well as medieval Muslim rulers of the subcontinent including Muhammad Ghori, Mahmud Ghaznavi, and Babur, were elevated as symbolic icons of military heritage. This ideological reorientation was visible as early as 1965, when Field Marshal Ayub Khan and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto named their plan to seize Jammu and Kashmir 'Operation Gibraltar' — deliberately invoking the Arab conquest of Gibraltar in 711 CE.

The Zia-ul-Haq Era: Faith Institutionalised

The Islamisation of the Pakistani military accelerated most sharply under General Zia-ul-Haq. Unlike Ayub Khan, Zia's generation had witnessed the Muslim League's movement firsthand. Many senior officers came from urban, middle-class Punjabi backgrounds, with a significant number — including Zia himself — having migrated from eastern Punjab during Partition.

Soon after becoming COAS, Zia replaced Muhammad Ali Jinnah's motto 'Iman, Ittihad, Nazm' (Faith, Unity, Discipline) with 'Iman, Taqwa, Jihad fi sabilillah' (Faith, Piety, and Struggle in the path of God). He characterised the Pakistani soldier as a 'soldier of Islam' and part of the 'Jaish al-Islam' (Army of Islam). Religious organisations such as Jamaat-e-Islami and Tablighi Jamaat were given space to operate within the military environment. According to scholar Stephen P. Cohen, who conducted field research in the late 1970s and early 1980s, an officer's piety increasingly factored into official evaluation and promotion considerations under Zia.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan further reinforced this trend. With CIA backing, the Pakistani Army established training centres along the Afghan border to train mujahideen fighters, combining conventional warfare instruction with religious and ideological indoctrination. The Taliban is widely regarded as a direct outcome of that ideological programme.

Asim Munir: A Distinct Ideological Profile

General Asim Munir differs significantly from his predecessors. As a Hafiz-e-Quran — one who has memorised the Quran in its entirety — and the son of an Imam, his persona as an observant Muslim soldier places him in a unique category among Pakistani army chiefs. He was appointed COAS in November 2022, promoted to the rank of four-star general amid a confluence of political upheaval, deepening economic crisis, and public disillusionment with the military's role in governance.

One of Munir's immediate priorities after assuming office was reportedly to neutralise former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Munir had previously been removed from his position as Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) after reportedly falling out of favour with Khan.

On 17 April 2025, Munir delivered a notable speech in Islamabad to a gathering of expatriates, emphasising civilisational and ideological distinctions. He stated that Muslims differ from Hindus