PM's Office confirms it has received summary for top military appointments
- Says PM will take a decision on appointments as per procedure
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) confirmed on Wednesday morning that it had received the summary from the Ministry of Defence with a panel of names for the new chief of army staff (COAS) and the chairman joint chief of staff committee (CJCSC).
In a tweet, it said the prime minister will take a decision on appointments as per procedure.
On Tuesday night, the Inter-Services Public Relations confirmed it had dispatched "names of 6 senior most Lt Gens, to the Ministry of Defence."
Earlier on Tuesday, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, while responding to speculations regarding appointments of COAS and CJCSC, said the summary has not yet been received by the Prime Minister’s House.
GHQ sends summary to MoD on top military appointments
In a tweet, he said the summary will be notified upon receipt.
An identical statement was issued by information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb.
Although the PM Office did not mention which six names have been forwarded, it is reportedly believed that the men currently in the running to be the next chief of army staff are Lt Gen Asim Munir, Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Lt Gen Azhar Abbas, Lt Gen Nauman Mehmood, Lt Gen Faiz Hamid and Lt Gen Mohammad Amir.
The current COAS, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, is set to retire on November 29.
'Process for appointment of next COAS has begun'
Earlier in the week on Monday, Asif tweeted that "the process of appointment to the highest position of Pakistan Army has started today, soon the appointment will be completed as per the constitutional requirements."
Speaking to the media later that day, the defence minister said that no summary has been received until now and "there was no deadlock with regard to the names for next COAS."
Process for appointment of next COAS has begun: Khawaja Asif
"We will start discussions to finalise the name when we receive the summary," he said, adding that armed forces will also be taken into confidence before finalisation of the name of the next COAS.
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