When making promotions, the government follows the principle of seniority.
The Prime Minister has appointed General Asim Munir to the position of Army Chief, and General Sahir Shamshad Mirza to the position of CJCSC.
ISLAMABAD: President Dr. Arif Alvi approved a summary for the appointment of Lt. Gen. Syed Asim Munir as the next army chief and Lt. Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza as the new Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) on Thursday, putting an end to days of speculation. The summary was sent by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The six-year reign of General Qamar Javed Bajwa will come to an end when General Syed Asim Munir takes over the position. The position of CJCSC, which is nominally the most senior in the military but is mostly ceremonial, will be filled by General Mirza, who will replace General Nadeem Raza in that role.
Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb was the first to make the announcement of the crucial appointments in the army following the special cabinet meeting that was presided over by Prime Minister Shehbaz. In contrast to previous practises, the government did not wait for the president’s signature on the summary before making the decision public.
Maryam made the announcement on Twitter, saying, “Using his constitutional powers, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has decided to nominate Lt. Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Lt. Gen. Syed Asim Munir as the Chief of the Army Staff.”
The notification that was made prior to the president giving his assent seems to be a calculated action on the part of the government in order to pre-empt any step that the president would take that might derail the process.
Instead of signing the executive summary, the president boarded a private plane to travel to Lahore to meet with Imran Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). As rumours circulated that the president could delay signing the summary right immediately, there was a brief moment when it appeared as though the nation could be moving toward another crisis.
Nevertheless, all of those rumours were proven to be unfounded when the president signed the summary within a few hours to provide his consent to both of the appointments.
According to an official statement that was released by the President’s Secretariat, “President Dr. Arif Alvi has promoted Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza HI(M) to the rank of General with immediate effect and appointed him as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee with effect from 27th November 2022.” This information was included in the announcement of the promotion.
According to the official release, the president “raised Lieutenant General Syed Asim Munir HI(M) to the rank of General with immediate effect and appointed him as Chief of Army Staff with effect from the 29th November 2022.”
According to the statement, the promotions and appointments were carried out in accordance with the provisions of articles 243(4) (a)&(b) and 48(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan read in conjunction with sections 8-A and 8-D of the Pakistan Army Act 1952.
Alvi received separate phone calls from each of the newly-installed generals not long after the president gave his permission. After that, the newly appointed army chief and the CJCSC both contacted the prime minister to discuss a variety of issues. In a statement, the PTI extended its congratulations and best wishes to both of the officers who have been promoted to the rank of four-star general.
People continued to speculate about who might succeed General Bajwa throughout the course of several weeks as the appointment of the army chief continued to dominate the national debate.
On Tuesday evening, a summary of six names was transmitted from the Ministry of Defense to the Office of the Prime Minister. On the list of seniority, Gen. Asim Munir came in top, followed by Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza in second place. As a result, the two important positions were given to the most senior generals available following Gen. Bajwa.
In 2013, General Raheel Sharif held the third spot, and General Bajwa held the fourth spot in 2016, according to the order of seniority. This time, the government stayed true to its commitment to the seniority concept.
Distinguished professional lives
Gen. Asim is the only individual to have served as both the second army chief and the head of Pakistan’s primary intelligence organisation. The other chief of staff was General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, who had previously held the position of director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) before being promoted to the rank of four-star general.
Gen. Asim, who was born and raised in the military city of Rawalpindi, has a wide range of expertise in the armed forces. He formerly held the position of corps commander at Gujranwala. In addition to that, he served as Director General of the ISI from October 2018 to June 2019. In addition to that, he was the Director General of Military Intelligence (MI).
Due to the fact that the government indicated that the principle of seniority will take precedence this time in the nomination of a new commander, Gen. Asim was thought to be the leading candidate for the position. People who are familiar with Gen. Asim or who have collaborated with him have the impression that he is someone who does not sugarcoat things.
On the order of seniority, Lieutenant General Mirza held the second spot. He held the position of Corps Commander in Rawalpindi. In the past, the majority of commanders in chief of the army held the office of chief of general staff (CGS), which he also held. Since the CGS is in charge of both the operational and intelligence directorates, he is commonly referred to as the “de facto army chief.” To put it another way, each and every file in the army is reviewed by the CGS table.
Earlier in his career, he held the position of Director General of Military Operations (DGMO). His family history is quite intriguing to learn about, General Mirza. He was orphaned at a young age and never knew his parents. His ascent to this position was accomplished solely by labour and toil.
In the section for parents, it is said that he made reference to his organisation.
Those who are familiar with General Mirza well attest that he has a positive status inside the military. He is not at the centre of any controversy, and there is not much back and forth about whether or not he should run.
