Ex-head of ISI named Pak’s new army chief

NEW DELHI: Lt Gen Asim Munir, a former head of the Inter-services Intelligence (ISI) agency, was on Thursday appointed the new Pakistan Army chief by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, ending intense speculation about choosing the successor to Gen Qamar Bajwa.

Munir was considered the dark horse among the six generals who were in the race for the top post as he was set to retire on November 27, just two days before Bajwa completes an extended tenure of six years.

People familiar with the matter said Munir’s reputation as a no-nonsense military officer known for his by-the-book approach to all matters helped clinch the post for him. A formal proposal was sent to President Arif Alvi in this regard, who gave his approval for the appointment.

NEW DELHI: Lt Gen Asim Munir, a former head of the Inter-services Intelligence (ISI) agency, was on Thursday appointed the new Pakistan army chief by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, ending intense speculation about choosing the successor to Gen Qamar Bajwa.

Munir was considered the dark horse among the six generals who were in the race for the top post as he was set to retire on November 27, just two days before Bajwa completes an extended tenure of six years. People familiar with the matter said Munir’s reputation as a no-nonsense military officer known for his by-the-book approach to all matters helped clinch the post for him.

The appointment was announced by information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Twitter. She posted in Urdu: “The Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has decided to appoint Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff [Committee] and Lt Gen Syed Asim Munir as the Chief of the Army Staff using the constitutional authority.”

Aurangzeb said a summary or formal proposal regarding this had been sent to President Arif Alvi for approval.

Though the approval of such appointments by Pakistan’s president is usually a formality, Alvi was appointed by former premier Imran Khan and relations between Alvi and the Shehbaz Sharif government have been strained. Soon after receiving the summary, Alvi travelled to Lahore to meet Khan, who is recuperating from injuries sustained in a recent gun attack. Khan’s party tweeted he and the president will act “according to the constitution and laws” in the army chief’s appointment.

Later in the evening, President Alvi signed the summary and approved the appointment of Lt Gen Munir as the new army chief and Lt Gen Mirza as the next CJCSC.

Munir, who belongs to the Frontier Force Regiment, has had stints heading both the ISI (in 2019) and Pakistan’s Military Intelligence (2016-18). He was removed by Khan as ISI chief after a tenure of less than eight months as his no-nonsense attitude and by-the-books approach did not go down well with the then prime minister.