Islamabad: In a late-night development, the General Headquarters (GHQ) on Tuesday confirmed that it has sent a summary containing the names of six senior-most lieutenant generals to the Ministry of Defense to facilitate a smooth transition in the army’s high command. Will smooth.
“[The] GHQ has forwarded CJCSC and COAS selection summary, containing the names of 6 senior most Lt Generals, to MoD,” a tweet shared on an official handle of the Army’s media wing late on Tuesday night. reads
Additionally, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif later confirmed in a tweet on Wednesday morning that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had received the summary from the Defense Ministry. The minister hoped that the remaining procedures would also be completed soon.
Earlier, when reports surfaced that the Prime Minister’s Office had received the summary, the government was quick to deny it. Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb said that the summary regarding the appointment of the Army Chief has not yet been received by the Prime Minister House.
He said in a tweet that the statement attributed to Defense Minister Khawaja Asif is wrong, speculations on this matter should be avoided. He said that information will be shared whenever a summary is received.
ISPR shed some light on the confusion, as the summary was received by the Ministry of Defence, which will now send it to the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday.
The ISPR statement did not name the potential candidates. However, it is believed that Lt. Gen. Asim Munir, Lt. Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Lt. Gen. Azhar Abbas, Lt. Gen. Nauman Mehmood, Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed and Lt. Gen. Mohammad Amir are included in this list.
The prime minister will now select two generals from this list to be promoted to four-star rank and then appoint one as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and the other as army chief.
Earlier on Tuesday, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said that the decision on the appointment of the Army Chief will be taken in the next 48 hours. will choose in the next 24 hours. He said that it will take a total of 48 hours.
Despite appeals by government ministers to avoid unnecessary publicity, the important appointment has dominated the national conversation for the past few days.
There was a flurry of meetings throughout the day on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif making his first public appearance after being in self-isolation due to Covid-19 when he met former President Asif Ali Zardari.
A day after the prime minister recovered from Covid-19, closed-door consultations continued in the power corridors to build consensus among stakeholders for the appointment of the military chief.
All eyes are on the prime minister, former president and chief of the main coalition party Asif Ali Zardari met the prime minister at the Prime Minister House in which the overall political situation was discussed including important appointments and the upcoming meeting of PTI in November. 26.
The meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz and former President Zardari is being considered significant, as the Prime Minister is getting closer to choosing Bajwa’s successor.
Although the process of appointing the new army chief began on Monday with Prime Minister Shehbaz formally writing to the defense ministry seeking a brief for potential candidates, the consultative meetings have picked up pace recently and The momentum has picked up just before last week. The retirement of Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has started.
An insider told JEE News that Zardari fully supported the prime minister in whatever decision he took regarding the appointment of the new army chief.
Zardari is believed to have assured Shahbaz that his party would support the government at this crucial juncture. Another alliance partner JUI-F chief also expressed similar support.
The official statement issued after the Shahbaz Zardari meeting did not reveal much as it said that the Prime Minister received the PPP leader at the Prime Minister House. The former president inquired about the welfare of the prime minister. And the Prime Minister thanked Zardari for his visit. The statement said that the two leaders also discussed the overall situation of the country.
Despite widespread rumours, people in government circles insist that everything is going smoothly so far, saying there is still plenty of time for a decision. The consultation process will continue and lead to appointment as per the constitution.
