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Lt Gen Asim Munir, due to retire on Nov 27, named Pakistan’s new army chief 

lt-gen-asim-munir,-due-to-retire-on-nov-27,-named-pakistan’s-new-army-chief 

Lieutenant General Asim Munir has been named as the new chief of army staff (COAS) of Pakistan. He will succeed General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who is set to retire on November 29 after serving his three-year extension. Munir is due to retire on November 27, two days before the retirement of Gen Bajwa who will complete his six years in the top post. So, Munir will get an extension and then only be eligible to take over as the new chief of army staff (COAS). 

Pakistan’s information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb made the announcement on Twitter, saying that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has picked Let Gen Munir to helm the top military post. 

وزیراعظم پاکستان محمد شہباز شریف نے آئینی اختیار استعمال کرتے ہوئے لیفٹنٹ جنرل ساحر شمشاد مرزا کو چئیرمین جوائنٹ چیفس آف سٹاف اور لیفٹنٹ جنرل سید عاصم منیر کو چیف آف دی آرمی سٹاف مقرر کرنے کا فیصلہ کیا ہے۔ اس بابت سمری صدر پاکستان کو ارسال کر دی گئی ہے۔

— Marriyum Aurangzeb (@Marriyum_A) November 24, 2022

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She further said that Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza had been picked as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC). Both officers have also been promoted to four-star generals.

The summary sent by the Cabinet awaits the nod of President Arif Alvi, whose seal of approval will finalise the whole process.

Minutes after the announcement, Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif took to Twitter saying that the government came to a decision after following the law and the constitution and urged all not to view the appointment through a “political lens”.

General Qamar Bajwa delivers his last speech as Pakistan Army chief

Asif hoped that the president would not make the appointments “controversial” and would endorse the advice of the premier. “This will also help our country and the economy to get on track. Currently, everything is at a standstill.”

“This is also a test for President Alvi, whether he will follow political advice or the constitutional and legal advice,” Asif was quoted as saying.

“As the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, it is his duty to protect the country from political conflicts,” he added.

Will President Alvi consult former PM Imran Khan?

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s official account quoted its chief Imran Khan as saying, “After the summary comes, I and the president of Pakistan will act according to the Constitution and laws.”

Khan claimed that President Arif Alvi will consult him on the summary.

“I am the head of my political party and the president will definitely consult me,” he was quoted as saying by ARY news channel.

Khan, who was wounded in an alleged assassination bid earlier this month during the long march has been calling for early elections and plans to lead a protest on Saturday in Rawalpindi, home to the army’s headquarters.

Who is Lt Gen Munir?

Lt. Gen. Munir is the senior-most officer after outgoing Gen. Bajwa, and is currently serving as Quartermaster General in the Pakistan Army. 

In October 2017, Lt Gen Munir was appointed as the Military Intelligence director general, and in October next year was made the Inter-Services Intelligence chief.

But his stint as the top intelligence officer was short-lived as he was replaced by Lt Gen Faiz Hamid within eight months, on the insistence of then-prime minister Imran Khan.

Lt Gen Munir entered the defence service via the Officers Training School programme and was commissioned into the Frontier Force Regiment. He has been a close aide of General Bajwa since he commanded troops in the Force Command Northern Areas as a brigadier under the outgoing army chief, who was then Commander X Corps.

 

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