Munir, a graduate of the Officers' training school in Mangla started his military career in 1986.
He has served as the commander of the Northern Areas Force as a brigadier and has served as the chief of two Pakistani intelligence agencies, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), between October 2018 – June 2019 and the Military Intelligence (MI) between December 2016 –October 2018.
Munir was prematurely removed from the ISI director’s post at the asking of former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and was posted as Corps Commander Gujranwala, Punjab province. He was then posted at the army headquarters in Rawalpindi where he was in charge of overseeing supplies for all military units.
In September 2018, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and is the most senior ranking general after General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the outgoing army chief.
Munir is a holder of the Sword of Honour and was awarded Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 2018, the second highest civilian honour conferred to both civilians and military officials in Pakistan.
He is set to take charge as the 17th army chief of the nation on November 29, 2022, when the current chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa's six-year tenure is scheduled to terminate.
Munir’s appointment needs approval from Pakistan President Arif Alvi, who is the supreme commander of Pakistan’s armed forces. Alvi belongs to the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, headed by former PM Imran Khan.