Pakistan govt likely to take decision on next Army chief’s appointment by mid-September

International

pti-PTI

Islamabad,
Aug
16:
Pakistan
Prime
Minister
Shehbaz
Sharif
could
initiate
discussions
on
the
appointment
of
the
next
Army
chief
to
replace
General
Qamar
Javed
Bajwa
by
the
end
of
August,
and
take
a
decision
by
mid-September,
according
to
a
media
report
on
Tuesday.

Lt
Gen
Sahir
Shamshad
Mirza
and
Lt
Gen
Azhar
Abbas
are
among
the
six
potential
frontrunners
who
can
replace
Gen
Bajwa
as
the
next
chief
of
Pakistan’s
Army,
according
to
the
report.

Appointed
in
2016,
the
current
Chief
of
Army
Staff
Gen
Bajwa,
61,
is
set
to
retire
in
the
last
week
of
November.
The
army
chief’s
appointment
is
meant
to
be
for
three
years,
but
Gen
Bajwa
was
given
an
additional
three-year
term
in
2019
after
some
political
drama.

Then-prime
minister
Imran
Khan
had
given
him
an
extension
in
August,
but
the
Supreme
Court
later
demanded
a
legislation
on
the
re-appointment
of
the
services
chiefs.
Pakistan’s
Parliament
complied
in
January
2020,
allowing
the
prime
minister
to
extend
the
tenure
of
services
chiefs
at
his
discretion.

The
legislation
had,
however,
fixed
64
as
the
age
at
which
a
service
chief
must
be
retired.
Gen
Bajwa
can
therefore
be
eligible
for
another
term.
This
technicality
had
led
to
speculation
that
the
incumbent
may
be
seeking
or
interested
in
another
extension.
But
according
to
a
military
source,
Gen
Bajwa
has
communicated
to
those
around
him
that
he
will
retire
in
November,
the
report
said.

Inter-Services
Public
Relations,
too,
has
confirmed
that
the
chief
is,
indeed,
retiring.
A
senior
Pakistan
Muslim
League-Nawaz
(PML-N)
leader,
who
is
a
member
of
the
federal
Cabinet
has
hinted
that
Prime
Minister
Sharif
could
initiate
discussions
on
the
appointment
of
the
next
Army
chief
by
the
end
of
August,
and
pos­s­ibly
take
a
decision
by
mid-September,
the
Dawn
newspaper
reported.

The
general
perception
is
that
he
will
consult
his
allies
in
the
ruling
coalition
before
making
a
final
call.
A
source
in
the
Pakistan
Peoples
Party,
however,
suggested
that
the
party
may
not
want
to
get
involved
as
it
is
the
prime
minister’s
prerogative
to
make
the
decision.

According
to
Article
243(3)
of
the
Constitution,
the
president
appoints
the
services
chiefs
on
the
recommendation
of
the
prime
minister.
The
tradition
is
that
General
Headquarters
(GHQ)
sends
a
list
of
the
four
to
five
senior-most
lieutenant-generals,
along
with
their
personnel
files,
to
the
Ministry
of
Defence,
which
then
forwards
them
to
the
prime
minister
to
pick
the
officer
he
finds
best
suited
to
the
role.

The
credentials
of
the
generals
are
then
deliberated
either
at
the
Prime
Minister’s
Office
or
in
the
cabinet.
The
matter
comes
down
to
the
prime
minister’s
‘informal
consultation’
with
the
outgoing
army
chief,
his
own
perceptions
and
his
discussions
with
his
closest
advisors,
the
report
said.
Four
of
the
six
top
Lt-Gens
at
the
time
of
Gen
Bajwa’s
retirement
will
be
from
the
same
batch,
while
a
fifth
is
senior
to
almost
the
entire
lot,
the
report
said.

Lt-Gen
Mirza
is
the
senior-most
amongst
the
four
candidates
belonging
to
the
same
batch.
He
hails
from
the
Sindh
Regiment;
the
same
parent
unit
as
the
outgoing
CJCSC,
Gen
Nadeem
Raza.
Lt-Gen
Abbas
is
the
most
experienced
in
Indian
affairs
among
the
current
brass.

Currently,
he
is
the
chief
of
general
staff
(CGS),
effectively
running
the
army
with
direct
oversight
of
both
operations
and
intelligence
directorates
at
GHQ.
Prior
to
that,
he
commanded
the
Rawalpindi-based
but
Kashmir-centric
and
politically-significant
X
Corps,
which
indicates
that
he
enjoys
the
complete
trust
of
the
present
Army
chief.

It
was
during
his
time
as
commander
X
Corps
that
the
Indian
and
Pakistani
armies
reached
an
understanding
on
respecting
the
2003
ceasefire
agreement
along
the
Line
of
Control,
and
it
was
Lt-Gen
Abbas’s
job
to
ensure
compliance
on
it,
the
report
said.
Other
potential
candidates
for
the
post
are
Lt-Gen
Asim
Munir,
Lt-Gen
Nauman
Mehmood,
Lt-Gen
Faiz
Hamid
and
Lt-Gen
Mohammad
Amir.