President Alvi will visit Lahore to consult with Imran regarding the appointment of the Chief of Army Staff. According to Imran, Alvi will follow the Constitution in the appointment process.
After former Prime Minister Imran Khan stated that he and President Dr. Arif Alvi would “work” together on the appointment of a new army chief, President Dr. Arif Alvi arrived at Zaman Park on Thursday in order to reportedly meet with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) took to social media to share a video showing the president’s caravan pulling up to Imran’s home in Lahore. The video was posted alongside claims that the two would discuss the party’s strategy in the lead up to the appointment of the new army chief.
The statement was made by the former prime minister in a tweet that was published on the official Twitter handle of the PTI. It read, “when the summary is received, the president and I will work according to the Constitution.”
Earlier, the head of the PTI had stated that President Alvi was in communication with him and would discuss him on the choice of a new army chief because he was the head of the party.
He asserted that if the prime minister can communicate with an “absconder” – a reference to PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif – then the president can consult with him as he is the party chief. This was in reference to the fact that the PML-N supremo had fled the country.
“I am currently discussing the summary of an important appointment with the President of the United States. Everything is going to be covered in our conversation. Imran stated this in an interview that was broadcast on a private news channel. “The prime minister goes to an absconder so I am a party head,” Imran said.
Further, he stated, “The president will absolutely discuss the matter with me.” He went on to add that he was unaware of who they would appoint, but that “the president and I have decided that we will play with this within the law and do whatever is in law and the Constitution.”
It is important to note that the tweet was sent only minutes after the news broke that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had decided to appoint Lieutenant General Syed Asim Munir as the next army chief and Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza as the new chairman joint chiefs of staff committee (CJCSC), putting an end to rumours that had been circulating for days.
Maryam Aurangzeb, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, made the announcement via a tweet in which she stated that the executive summary had been delivered to President Alvi.
According to the Constitution, the president has the authority to delay the appointment of the new chief of the army for a period of up to 25 days. According to sources who spoke with The Express Tribune, the government had several backup plans in place in the event that the president decided to delay the summary.
It is able to appoint the vice chief of army staff (VCOAS), as the approval of the president is not necessary for this purpose and therefore it has the authority to do so.
In exchange for extending the service of an officer whose retirement is approaching, the government may also choose to promote an existing lieutenant general to the rank of full-fledged general.
An official of the government voiced his surprise at the fact that a discussion that he deemed “unnecessary” was taking place regarding the potential postponement of the army chief’s appointment summary. He continued by saying, “I think this is not at all a problem.”
