Pakistan Prime Minister picks Lt Gen Asim Munir as new army chief

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday chose Lt Gen Asim Munir as the new Army chief to replace incumbent General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Bajwa, 61, is scheduled to retire on November 29 after a three-year extension. He has ruled out seeking another extension. The new chief will take over from outgoing General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who will retire later this month after a six-year term.

Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza had been picked as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC).

"The Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has decided to appoint Lt. Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Lt. Gen. Syed Asim Munir as the Chief of the Army Staff using the constitutional authority," Pakistan Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb tweeted.

Aurangzeb said that a summary of the same had been sent to Pakistan President Arif Alvi.

On Wednesday, the Pakistan government confirmed that it had received the summary from the Ministry of Defence with a "panel of names" for the appointment of the new COAS.

"The PM office has received the summary from the Ministry of Defence with a panel of names for the appointment of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of the Army Staff. The Prime Minister will take a decision on the appointments as per the laid down procedure," the Pakistan prime minister's office said in a statement.

Pakistan's defence minister has warned opposition leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying that the coalition government will deal with him, after the completion of the appointment process of the new Army chief.

"The process will complete in two to three days. The excitement will end, after which we will deal with Imran Khan," the Pakistan defence minister was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune.

He made these remarks on the floor of the Pakistan National Assembly, hinting at the formal announcement of the key appointment within the next three days.

This comes after the process to appoint the new army chief started on Monday as Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote a letter to the country's Defence Ministry for a summary of the potential candidates.

*with inputs from agencies