The long-pending appointment of the Pakistan Army Chief came to an end on Thursday after PM Shehbaz Sharif picked Lieutenant General Asim Munir as the new army chief.
There were a number of speculations and political scuffles in the country for weeks.
“Using constitutional authority, Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has decided to appoint Lt. Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Lt. Gen. Syed Asim Munir as Chief of the Army Staff,” Pakistan Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb tweeted.Aurangzeb said that a summary of the same had been sent to Pakistan President Arif Alvi.
It was confirmed by the Pakistani government that it has received the summary from the Ministry of Defense with a “panel of names” for the army chief’s appointment.
“The PM office has received the summary from the Ministry of Defense with a panel of names for the appointment of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of the Army Staff.” “The Prime Minister will take a decision on the appointments as per the laid-down procedure,” the Pakistan prime minister’s office said in a statement.
Gen. Bajwa, 61, is slated to retire next week after a three-year extension.
On Tuesday, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said the summary had been forwarded to the PMO from the defence ministry. “The rest of the steps will be completed soon,” he tweeted.
Imran Khan, the head of the opposition and a former prime minister, has been warned by Pakistan’s defence minister that the coalition government will deal with him following the selection of the next Army chief.
“It will take two to three days to complete the process.” The thrill ride will end, and then we’ll talk about Imran Khan. “The Express Tribune” cited the Pakistani defence minister’s statement.
He hinted at the formal announcement of the important appointment within the following three days when he made these comments on the floor of the Pakistan National Assembly.
This occurs after the selection process for the new army chief was launched on Monday, when Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif requested a summary of potential candidates.