Claim: Asim Munir is the first chief of the army staff to visit the United States since Raheel Sharif.
Fact: Asim Munir is not the first Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) to visit the US since Raheel Sharif. The former COAS, Qamar Bajwa also went to the US on a week-long official visit during his tenure, in November 2022. .
On 10 December 2023, journalist Kamran Khan shared a tweet (archive) claiming that the present COAS, General Asim Munir is the first army chief to visit the US since Raheel Sharif, who visited in November 2015. The post said this is the first official visit to the US by a Pakistani military chief in 8 years.
Fact or Fiction?
In October 2022, General Qamar Javed Bajwa went to the US for a week-long visit to ensure that ties between the two countries remain functional. During this visit, he held meetings with US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin and National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan to discuss regional security issues pertaining to Pakistan.
This visit took place 7 years after the former General Raheel Sharif’s visit to the US in November 2015 who went in pursuit of improved relations between the United States of America and Pakistan.
Therefore, Asim Munir is not the first COAS to visit since Raheel Sharif because Qamar Javed Bajwa visited in 2022. He was the first Pakistani COAS to visit the US in 7, not 8, years.
However, this is General Asim Munir’s first official visit as the Chief of the Army Staff to the United States of America.
Virality
The tweet by Kamran Khan was viewed 637,200 times on Twitter and received more than 1600 interactions on Twitter.
On Facebook, the claim was shared here.
Conclusion: General Asim Munir is not the first COAS to visit the United States of America since Raheel Sharif.
—
Background image in cover photo: Pakistan Observer
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com