The PMO has been provided with six names for potential military appointments.
GHQ has confirmed that they will be sending a summary to MoD regarding the CJCSC and COAS appointments.
ISLAMABAD:
In a development that took place late Tuesday night, the General Headquarters (GHQ) confirmed that it had sent a summary to the Ministry of Defence that included the names of six senior most lieutenant generals. This will allow for a smooth transition in the army top command and pave the way for future advancements.
Late on Tuesday night, a Twitter was posted on the official handle of the branch of the military that is responsible for media relations. The tweet read: “[The] GHQ has forwarded the summary for the selection of CJCSC and the COAS, containing names of 6 senior most Lt Gens, to MoD.”
In addition, the Minister of Defense Khawaja Asif later acknowledged in a tweet sent out in the early morning hours of Wednesday that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has been provided with the summary that was provided by the Ministry of Defense. The minister voiced their optimism that the remaining steps of the process will be completed in the near future.
Earlier, when it was reported that the Prime Minister’s Office had been in possession of a summary for some time, the government was eager to dismiss the rumours. According to the Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, the Prime Minister’s House has not yet received the summary regarding the appointment of the army head.
“The statement attributed to Defence Minister Khawaja Asif is wrong,” she stated in a tweet, adding that discussion on the topic had to be avoided. “The statement” was ascribed to the Defense Minister Khawaja Asif. She stated the information would be distributed at the earliest opportunity after the summary was compiled.
The ISPR provided some illumination to the murky situation by revealing that the defence ministry had been in possession of the summary and will now forward it on to the prime minister’s office on Wednesday.
The identities of probable applicants were not mentioned in the statement released by ISPR. On the other hand, it is speculated that the list contains the names of Lieutenant Generals Asim Munir and Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Lieutenant General Azhar Abbas, Lieutenant General Numan Mahmud, Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, and Lieutenant General Muhammad Amir.
The prime minister is going to select two generals from the list, promote them to the rank of four-star, and then appoint one of them as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and the other as the army chief. This will take place very soon.
Earlier on Tuesday, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif stated that the decision to appoint the army chief would be announced within the next 48 hours. He also stated that the summary would arrive at the PM Office in the next 24 hours, and it was anticipated that the prime minister would choose the new military chief in the next 24 hours. He estimated that the entire process would take forty-eight hours.
In spite of warnings made by government officials to avoid creating needless hype, the key appointment has continued to dominate the national debate over the course of the last few days.
On Tuesday, there was a flurry of meetings throughout the day, including a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and former President Asif Ali Zardari. This meeting was Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s first public appearance after keeping in isolation due to the Covid-19 incident.
One day after he had fully recovered from the effects of Covid-19, the Prime Minister conducted negotiations behind closed doors in the power corridors in order to build a consensus among the various stakeholders about the choice of the military head.
Asif Ali Zardari, a former president of Pakistan and the head of a key coalition party, paid a visit to the premier at the Prime Minister House to discuss the overall political situation as well as the upcoming rally of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on November 26. With all eyes on the premier, Zardari discussed the key appointment as well as the overall political situation.
The meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz and Ex-President Asif Ali Zardari was considered as extremely important as the Prime Minister draws closer to appointing a successor for Bajwa.
Although the process to appoint the new army chief began with Prime Minister Shehbaz formally writing a letter to the Ministry of Defence on Monday, seeking a summary for the potential candidates, the consultative meetings have recently gained momentum and picked up pace just before the final week of Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s retirement began. Although the process to appoint the new army chief began with Prime Minister Shehbaz formally writing a letter to the Ministry of Defence on
According to a source close to the situation, Zardari offered the prime minister his unwavering backing for whichever choice he made on the selection of the next head of the armed forces, as reported by The Express Tribune.
It is believed that Zardari gave Shehbaz the assurance that his party will support the government at this key point. [Citation needed] A similar show of support came from the head of the JUI-F, which is another coalition partner.
In the official statement that was issued after the meeting between Shehbaz and Zardari, it was stated that the prime minister had welcomed the PPP leader at the PM House, that the former president had inquired about the PM’s health, and that the PM had thanked Zardari for visiting him. However, this statement did not reveal very much information. According to the statement, both leaders discussed their respective perspectives on the general condition of affairs in the nation.
People in the government circle emphasised that everything was moving smoothly so far, stating that there was still plenty of time for a decision to be reached despite the many rumours that were circulating about the situation. “The procedure of consultations would continue, which would ultimately result in the nomination in accordance with the Constitution.”
On Tuesday, several government officials, including the Minister of Defense Khawaja Asif, met with the Prime Minister to discuss the selection of the next Army Chief of Staff. It was revealed by sources who were familiar with the ongoing discussions that consultations were taking place on a regular basis. Prime Minister Shehbaz wanted to ensure that there was a broad consensus among the key stakeholders so that the decision would serve the interests of the institution as well as the country.
