Claim: A picture shows Field Marshal Asim Munir wearing an Israeli flag around his shoulders.
Fact: The image is doctored. In the original, Munir is wearing an Ihram while performing Umrah in Saudi Arabia in June 2025.
On 30 September 2025, a Facebook user posted (archive) an image of Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, wrapped in what appears to be the flag of Israel.
The image was accompanied by the caption, “اسرائیلی ایجنٹ [Israeli agent]”.
Gaza peace deal
In a 29 September press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump announced a plan to end the war in Gaza, Palestine. This came just days ahead of the second anniversary of the armed Palestinian group Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attack.
The announcement by Trump and Netanyahu included an “ultimatum” to the group, saying that if it did not accept the peace plan, “Israel would have my full backing to finish the job of destroying the threat of Hamas.”
The US President also said, “Prime Minister [Shehbaz Sharif] and the Field Marshal [Munir of] Pakistan, they were with us right from the beginning. Incredible, in fact. They just put out a statement that they fully believe in this pact. […] They back this 100%,”
The proposed agreement was published by The White House. It came just days after eight countries, including Pakistan, were invited “to a closed-door meeting with President Donald Trump on 23 September during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to discuss a peace deal in Gaza”.
Sharif issued a statement on X in this regard, welcoming Trump’s 20-point plan. “I am also convinced that durable peace between the Palestinian people and Israel would be essential in bringing political stability and economic growth to the region,” he wrote.
He commended the American leader, writing, “I laud President Trump’s leadership and the vital role played by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in bringing an end to this war.”
The White House published an article listing various world leaders’ statements about the peace deal under the title, “Global Support for President Trump’s Bold Vision for Peace in Gaza.”
Among these was a joint statement by an eight-country group, comprising Jordan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt.
Pakistan’s support for Trump’s plan, however, led to “sharp criticism from opposition and religious groups, raising concerns of political trouble”, as Islamabad does not recognise Israel and “supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders”.
The incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), as well as Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the chief of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), opposed Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
Shortly afterwards, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar issued a statement saying the 20 points announced by Trump were “not the same as ours”. He noted that “some changes have been made in it, in the draft we had”. Moreover, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, also raised concern over the plan, stating that what the US President had “announced is not exactly in line with the changes we had proposed”.
The proposed Gaza peace and ceasefire deal was eventually signed by Trump and various world leaders on 13 October 2025.
US trips by Sharif, Munir
This year, Trump has met Field Marshal Munir three times, including once alongside PM Sharif on 26 September 2025.
Prior to that, in August, the army chief made his second visit to the US, where he met top American military officials — including Chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Dan Caine — and attended the 15th CENTCOM commander Gen Michael Kurilla’s farewell event.
This followed his June 2025 meeting with Trump. It was the first time a top serving military official was “formally received at this level, without holding political office or governing under martial law”.
Munir was accompanied by the head of Pakistan’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt Gen Asim Malik, who also serves as the National Security Advisor, whereas the American side included US State Secretary Marco Rubio and Special Representative for Middle Eastern Affairs, Steve Witkoff.
Fact or Fiction?
A reverse-search of the photo ascertained that it is doctored. It is actually from 6 June 2025, when Munir and Sharif performed Umrah — a lesser pilgrimage to Makkah that can be undertaken any time of the year — during their official visit to Saudi Arabia. Pictures from their tour were published by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
A direct match was found in two TikTok posts from the same day. The video was also posted on Business Recorder’s YouTube channel and journalist Hamza Azhar Salam. Lastly, we were able to trace it to PM Sharif’s Facebook page.
In all of the aforementioned footage, the army chief is only wearing an Ihram, a white wrap-around cloth worn during Hajj and Umrah. He does not don an Israeli flag.
The altered image circulating on social media appears to be part of a larger discourse in Pakistan that considers the government’s endorsement of Trump’s Gaza peace plan a betrayal to the Palestinian cause, especially as the country does not recognise Israel as a state.
We were also able to find the altered video, which looks like the source of the screenshot; it was posted on X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok here and here, respectively.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found the claim circulating here, here, and here on Facebook, here, here, and here on X, and here on TikTok.
Conclusion: The image is doctored.The original version shows Munir wearing an Ihram while performing Umrah in Saudi Arabia in June 2025.
Background image in cover photo: Prime Minister’s Office
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