-Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza appointed as CJCSC
0President okays appointments of new COAS, CJCSC
-Gen. Bajwa to retire on 29th, CJCSC Gen. Raza to retire on Nov 27th
-PM extends good wishes for new Army Chief, CJCSC
By Anzal Amin
ISLAMABAD: Uncertainty surrounding key appointments in the military ended after President Arif Alvi on Thursday signed the summary and approved the appointments of Lt. General Asim Munir as the next Chief of Army Staff and Lt. Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC).
“President Dr Arif Alvi has promoted Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza HI(M) to the rank of General with immediate effect and appointed him as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee with effect from 27th November 2022. The President promoted Lieutenant General Syed Asim Munir HI(M) to the rank of General with immediate effect and appointed him as Chief of Army Staff with effect from 29th November 2022,” said a statement issued by the President’s Secretariat. It added that the promotions and appointments have been made under article 243(4) (a) and (b) and Article 48(1) of the Constitution of the Pakistan. Both the articles are to be read with Sections 8-A and 8-D of the Pakistan Army Act 1952.
Both — Gen Munir and General Mirza — met PM Shehbaz Sharif and President Arif Alvi, separately, after the confirmation of their appointment as the new chief of army staff and joint chief of staff committee.
“My congratulations and best wishes to the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee-designate Lt. General Sahir Shamshad Mirza and Chief of the Army Staff-designate Lt. General Asim Munir on their appointment,” tweeted PM Shehbaz.
Earlier in the day, speculations ended after the government announced that Lt Gen Munir was selected by PM Shehbaz to become Pakistan’s next army chief, replacing General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb confirmed on Twitter that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, using his Constitutional right, had also named Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza as CJCSC.
The decision was announced after PM Shehbaz held a federal cabinet meeting earlier in the day to mull over the high-profile appointments after the allied parties authorised him to pick the officers for the top slots.
PM Shehbaz’s nominee for the army chief has also been retained by the federal government under the Pakistan Army Act, according to sources, as he was about to retire later this month.
Following the PM’s decision, the summary for the new appointments was sent to the President’s Secretariat.
But uncertainty surrounding the president’s approval on the key appointments took centre stage after the head of the state departed to Lahore to hold a meeting with PTI Chairman Imran Khan on the key appointments.
All eyes were on the meeting as Imran Khan, in an interview Wednesday night, had said that he and President Alvi would play “legally and constitutionally” on the matter.
While the government had hoped that there would be no hiccups in the signing of the summary.
“All the matters have been settled in line with the Constitution of Pakistan and hopefully the president will not create a controversy,” Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had said. He also stated that the signing was a test for President Alvi.
After the end of the meeting, PTI senior leader Fawad Chaudhry had shared that President House would issue a statement on his meeting with the PTI chief. He had added that the president and Imran Khan discussed the constitutional, political and legal issues regarding the army chief’s appointment.
But as soon as President Alvi reached Islamabad he signed off the summary and approved the appointment of Lt Gen Munir and Lt Mirza as the next CJCSC.
The govt had also developed a “Plan B” in case the president would not approve the summary. However, with the signing it seems there would be no need of the plan.
Lt Gen Munir, who was also Pakistan’s chief spy, will take over from outgoing COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who retires later this month after a six-year term.
COAS Gen Bajwa, who was appointed as the army chief in 2016, will retire on November 29. He was initially set to hang up his boots in 2019, but the PTI-led government gave him a three-year extension.
However, Lt Gen Mirza will take over the CJCSC post on November 27 as General Nadeem Raza will retire before Gen Bajwa.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah welcomed the appointment of the new army chief and congratulated Lt Gen Munir and Lt General Mirza.
Meanwhile, National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf and Deputy Speaker Zahid Akram Durrani also extended their heartiest congratulation to the two military officials on their appointments.
Lt Gen Asim Munir joined the Pakistan Army from the Mangala Officers Training School programme and then became a commissioned officer in the Frontier Force Regiment.
He commanded the Northern Areas Force as a brigadier and was appointed the director-general of the Military Intelligence in early 2017. In 2018, he was appointed as the director-general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Following this, he was posted as Corps Commander Gujranwala for two years. Currently, he is serving as the Quarter Master at the General Headquarters (GHQ).
He became the first army chief who has headed both — the MI and the ISI. Lt Gen Munir will also be the first army chief who has been awarded the Sword of Honour.
Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza hails from the Sindh Regiment and served as the director-general of the military operations under former COAS Raheel Sharif.
Lt Gen Mirza also supervised the operations against terrorists in North Waziristan and was part of the coordination group that oversaw negotiations with Afghanistan.
He was also a member of the Gilgit-Baltistan Reforms Committee. After becoming a Lt Gen, Mirza was appointed as the Chief of the General Staff. Currently, he is serving as the Corps Commander Rawalpindi.
