Pakistan’s Army Headquarters will on Friday send nomination summary to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office, setting in motion the keenly watched and much-delayed process to appoint the country’s next army chief. An announcement on the next pick could be made between November 22 and 25, sources told News18.
Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who is Pakistan Peoples Party president Asif Ali Zardari’s preferred choice for another extension, is likely to meet Shehbaz Sharif by Saturday. Bajwa is set to retire on November 29.
Sharif’s PML-N is reportedly consulting coalition partners, including Zardari, on the appointment of the next army chief. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had met allies Zardari and JUI-F’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman during which the PML-N leaders conveyed a special message from party supremo and former PM Nawaz Sharif.
Bilawal Bhutto was also present at the meeting. According to PPP sources, the PML-N wants General Asim Munir as Pakistan’s next army chief, while PPP wants Bajwa to continue for another six months.
As per the process, the Army Headquarters and the Defence Ministry will send a list of top five generals to the Prime Minister’s Office. After Bajwa, the list could include:
- Lt. General Asim Munir, Quarter-Master General
- Lt. General Sahir Shahmshad Mirza, Corps Commander Rawalpindi
- Lt. General Azhar Abbas, Chief of General Staff
- Lt. General Numan Mahmood, President National Defence University
- Lt. General Faiz Hameed, Corps Commander Bahawalpur
Under the law, the incumbent prime minister is empowered to select any one of the top three-star generals. But politically it means installing someone who may pull the strings and even determine the fate of the person who appointed him.
The military is the most powerful institution in a nation seldom far from its next crisis and the appointment could have a crucial bearing on the future of Pakistan’s fragile democracy, and whether relations with neighbouring India are allowed to improve.
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