Pakistan picks its new military leaders
With the Pakistan government on Monday saying the process for selecting the army chief and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee will be completed this week, three generals who have emerged as front-runners in the race— Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Lt Gen Azhar Abbas, and Lt Gen Asim Munir —are considered old India hands or have played a crucial role in bilateral issues. Defence minister Khawaja Asif said the process of appointing the next army chief and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee started on Monday.
NEW DELHI: With the Pakistan government on Monday saying the process for selecting the army chief and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee will be completed this week, three generals who have emerged as front-runners in the race for the posts are either considered old India hands or have played a crucial role in handling bilateral issues.
Defence minister Khawaja Asif said the process of appointing the next army chief and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee started on Monday and the appointments will soon be completed in line with constitutional requirements.
The five or six senior-most generals will be considered for the posts and the army chief’s appointment will be completed by November 25, he told the media. The new chief will replace Gen Qamar Bajwa, who was given a three-year extension and is currently making farewell calls at various formations.
The appointments have been the source of intense speculation in Pakistan’s political circles for weeks, especially after the souring of relations between the military and former premier Imran Khan, who only recently backed down from calls that the next army chief should be appointed by the government formed after
the next general election in 2023.
Among the three generals seen as front-runners in the race for the top two posts, Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza and Lt Gen Azhar Abbas are both considered old India hands.
The third general, Lt Gen Asim Munir, was head of the Inter-services Intelligence (ISI) when tensions between India and Pakistan rose following the Pulwama suicide bombing in February 2019.
Munir was among the military decision-makers involved in shaping Pakistan’s response and security policies at that time, people familiar with the matter said. Of the three generals, Munir is considered the dark horse as he is set to retire on November 27, just two days before Bajwa completes his extended tenure.
He was removed as ISI chief after a brief stint of less than a year because his no-nonsense attitude and by-the-books approach reportedly did not go down well with then-pm Khan. A section of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-N) Party favours his elevation to the post of army chief as it believes Munir can stand up to Khan, the people said.
Abbas is considered the general with the most experience in dealing with India because of his current stint as chief of general staff, which has him playing a key role in overseeing all operational matters, and his previous tenure as head of the Rawalpindi-based X Corps during 2019-21.
This formation oversees operations in parts of Kashmir and Abbas was responsible on the Pakistani side for implementing the ceasefire on the Line of Control (LOC) when it was reaffirmed in February 2021.
Mirza, who is being tipped for the post of chairman of joint chiefs of staff committee, has considerable expertise of dealing with matters related to India following his stints as director general of military operations during 2015-18 and chief of general staff during 2019-21, and his ongoing stint as commander of X Corps.