Pakistan government on Wednesday confirmed that it had received the summary from the Ministry of Defence with a “panel of names” for the appointment of the new chief of army staff (COAS).
“The PM office has received the summary from the Ministry of Defence with a panel of names for the appointment of Chairman 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. Besides the government, the Pakistani army also confirmed that it had sent the names of six top lieutenant generals for the appointment of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) and the chairman of the joint chief of staff committee (CJCSC).
“GHQ has forwarded the summary for Selection of CJCSC and COAS, containing names of 6 senior most Lt Gens to MoD,” spokesperson Pakistan Armed Forces said in a tweet on Tuesday night.
A day earlier, Pakistan Defence 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.
Pakistan’s defence minister has warned opposition leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying that the coalition government will deal with him, after the completion of the appointment process of the new Army chief.
“The process will complete in two to three days. The excitement will end, after which we will deal with Imran Khan,” the Pakistan defence minister was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune.
He made these remarks on the floor of the Pakistan National Assembly, hinting at the formal announcement of the key appointment within the next three days.
This comes after the process to appoint the new army chief started on Monday as Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote a letter to the country’s Defence Ministry for a summary of the potential candidates.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s outgoing Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa confessed that the military establishment was involved in politics and said that the Army has decided to stop “interfering in politics,” Dawn reported.
While addressing the Defence and Martyrs Day ceremony, the Army Chief said that armies around the world are seldom criticized “but our army is often subjected to criticism.” “I think the reason for that is the army’s involvement in politics. That is why in February, the army decided to not interfere in politics.” “Many sectors subjected the army to criticism and used inappropriate language,” he said.