The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has received a summary from the Ministry of Defense consisting of the names of six senior generals for two top-most appointments of the Pakistan Army, the new Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC).
The current chief of army staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, is to step down on November 29 after serving for six years.
The confirmation Tweet from the PMO’s official handle stated that the prime minister will take a decision on appointments as per the constituted procedure.
Earlier on Tuesday night, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed it had dispatched a summary of the key appointments to the Ministry of Defense.
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif also confirmed receiving a summary at PM’s office via a Tweet in the early hours of Wednesday and hoped the remaining process would also be completed smoothly soon.
Previously, while responding to speculations regarding appointments of COAS and CJCSC on Tuesday, Khawaja Asif had said that the decision to appoint the army chief would be announced within the next 48 hours, adding that the summary would reach the PM Office in the next 24 hours and the prime minister was expected to select the new military chief in the next 24 hours. “It will take a total of 48 hours,” he stated.
Potential Candidates
Although the statement issued by the ISPR didn’t mention the names of potential candidates, it is believed that the list includes:
- Lt General AsimmMunir
- Lt General SahirmShamshad Mirza
- Lt General Azhar Abbas
- Lt General Numan Mahmud
- Lt General Faiz Hameed
- Lt General Muhammad Amir
The premier will now pick two generals from the list to promote them to the rank of four-star and then appoint one as the new Army Chief and the other as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.