After days of speculations, the appointment of Lieutenant General Syed Asim Munir as the new army chief and Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza as the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday put an end to all.
Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb made the statement on Twitter, saying that President Alvi has received the summary.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has decided to appoint Lt. Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Lt. Gen. Syed Asim Munir as Chief of the Army Staff using his constitutional power.
According to the seniority list, the positions of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and army chief were up for consideration amongst Lieutenant Generals Asim Munir, Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Azhar Abbas, Numan Mahmud, and Faiz Hameed.
The appointment of the new army chief has reached its conclusion, according to confirmation from Defence Minister Khwaja Asif that “the advice has gone to President Alvi.”
“Imran Khan will now be put to the test as to whether he wants to strengthen the institution of homeland defence,” the minister said.
“President Alvi’s decision to follow constitutional and legal advice as opposed to political advice will also be put to the test, he continued. He must protect the country against political conflicts in his capacity as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces “.
The defence minister had made a casual comment to reporters on Wednesday outside the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) that the new army chief may be appointed before PM Shehbaz embarks on a trip to Turkey on November 25.
