Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday appointed former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) head Lt General Asim Munir as the new chief of army staff (COAS). Lt General Asim Munir will succeed outgoing army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. General Qamar Javed Bajwa, 61, is scheduled to retire on November 29 after getting a three-year extension.
Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said that Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza had been picked as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC).
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told the media after the appointments that the “advice” had been forwarded to President Arif Alvi, adding that all matters had been settled according to the law and the Constitution.
He called on citizens to refrain from viewing it through a “political lens”, Dawn newspaper reported.
The defence minister reiterated that the President should endorse the premier’s advice so that a “controversy may not arise”.
The CJCSC is the highest authority in the hierarchy of the armed forces but the key powers including mobilisation of troops, appointments and transfers lie with the Chief of the army Staff which makes the person holding the post the most powerful in the military.
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