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Tuesday, 22 November, 2022 I 26 Rabi us Sani, 1444 I Rs 15.00 | Vol XIII No 143 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
PM sets the ball rolling for Coas aPPointMent g
PM asks Defence Ministry to send list of senior-most officers for the crucial pick ISLAMABAD
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Staff RepoRt
riMe Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday asked the ministry of defence to commence the process of appointment of new Chief of Army Staff (COAS) by moving a summary of the much-anticipated list of five senior-most generals to choose a new chief, it emerged on Monday. Under the Standard Operating Procedure (SoP), it is the GHQ which initiates the process by moving a summary to the ministry of defence containing a list of senior-most officers of the army and the defence ministry sends it to the PM Office for making a formal decision. However, the PM took initiative on
Monday to set the ball rolling as the PM Office did not receive a summary till Monday. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told the National Assembly on Monday evening that the process of making appointments to the top slots of the Pakistan Army had begun and the General Headquarters (GHQ) rawalpindi had already been informed about the PM’s letter. Speaking in a session of the National Assembly, Asif said his ministry has received the prime minister’s letter about initiating the process for the next army chief’s appointment. This comes on heels of media speculations that the GHQ had already sent a summary to the PM’s office through the ministry of defence – though it is not the case.
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Asif criticises media for speculating on summary moved by GHQ
Furthermore, Asif said that the PM’s letter was communicated to the GHQ as well. Asif said there was a state of “unrest” now that the process for the ap-
pointment was initiated. “it’s possible that tomorrow or the day after tomorrow or two days later or three days later this whole process will
reach its completion and this unrest will subside,” he asserted. The defence minister criticised the media for contributing to the charged atmosphere by airing news about whether the summary of the army chief candidates was sent or not but not bothering to verify the information. Asif said the process was being treated as if it was the only issue in the country today and nothing else. “This distress is at a time when our economy is weak and we can’t stand on our feet. Hopefully, our effort is that this process passes so we can go towards stability,” he said, hoping that this threshold of the appointment would be crossed in the next two to three days. he probable list of five senior-most lieutenant generals may include Asim Munir, Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Azhar Abbas, Nauman Mehmood, and Faiz Hameed.
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