Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is a five-star honorary rank in the Pakistan Army awarded by the

Islamic Republic of Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

to chief of army staff in recognition of distinguished service such as a major victory in a combat

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

(a wartime victory). It is the highest rank in Pakistan uniformed services that ranks above

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

as well as air chief marshal and below none. Although it is a current and authorized rank with a

pay grade A pay grade is a unit in systems of monetary compensation for employment. It is commonly used in public service, both civil and military, but also for companies of the private sector. Pay grades facilitate the employment process by providing a fix ...

of "Apex Scale", it has been used one-off throughout its history and no Pakistani armed officer presently holds it, with the erstwhile and last field marshal being Ayub Khan, who promoted himself to the rank in 1965. It comes with no additional powers and pay grade, but an honorary rank with a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

's equivalent rank code

OF-10 A five-star rank is the highest military rank in many countries.Oxford English Dictionary (OED), 2nd Edition, 1989. "five" ... "five-star adj., ... (b) U.S., applied to a general or admiral whose badge of rank includes five stars;" The rank is t ...

. It is equivalent to fleet admiral, and while it is an ordinarily senior rank in Pakistan army, it can be refer as five-star general "standard rank scale" to distinguish it from other military insignias. Although a five-star field marshal assumes no additional power, but it could be a difficult task for government to combat the unconstitutional political movement and the use of unsanctioned power by a military dictator, especially by a field marshal.

History

Since Pakistan became a

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined te ...

, the five-star field marshal rank was only given in once to a Pakistani army general Ayub Khan.

Appointment

The appointment of five-star field marshal is made through an appeal submitted for review request by the

Prime minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pa ...

in a joint effort with the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and defence ministry to the supreme court or high court for

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these prin ...

orders under certain rules and regulations, although the president exercises the power of the commander-in-chief and prime minister rules

national assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

Statutory limits

Although five-star field marshal rank was only given once, there are no enough evidences that could establish statutory limits of a field marshal. However, the law of Pakistan restricts the use of unsanctioned power by a field marshal or general and can be constraint under a certain constitutional amendment.

References

{{Pakistan Armed Forces Military ranks of Pakistan Pakistan Army Pakistan Army Pakistani generals