The date of November 29 has been echoing across Pakistan’s political landscape. It is the date of the current army chief’s retirement. “Who will be the next chief?” is the hottest question in the country.

As Imran Khan leads another long march to the capital, political rivals have alleged that his aim is to get a ‘favorable chief appointed. Meanwhile, the Sharif brothers congregated in London. Reports have revealed that the army chief’s appointment was one of the key topics discussed.

The official statement from the Sharifs’ meeting said that an agreement has been reached that out of the General Headquarters’ (GHQ) provided names, the senior most general should be made chief. The key detail to focus on here is that the list of names will be provided by the GHQ.

Until the official announcement, we can only speculate who the final name will be. However, we can take a view of the top candidates. But first we need to establish what makes a general ‘senior’. According to the army act, each soldier is allotted a number when he passes out of PMA Kakul’s long course. Therefore, the oldest officer to get commissioned will be considered senior most.

Lt. Gen Asim Munir

If the rumor mill is to be believed, Lt. General Asim Munir is the front-runner for the post. But here is a little background.

General Munir is set to retire on November 27, two days before the current chief’s retirement. However, the rules say that even if an officer is retiring, he will be eligible to take over when the current army chief completes his tenure if nominated in time.

Lt. General Asim Munir was commissioned into the Frontier Force Regiment. He is currently serving as the quatermaster general. He has also commanded XXX Corps in Gujranwala and served as the DG ISI. of He can be eligible for both COAS and CJCSC.

Lt. General Shair Shamshad Mirza

The second senior most officer in the army is Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza.

Commissioned into the Sindh Regiment, Lt. General Mirza is currently commanding the X Corp, also called the Rawalpindi Corp. This is the biggest corp in the army, and is responsible for areas that include Kashmir and Siachen.

Before his current posting, he served as the chief of general staff. He also served as the vice chief of general staff where he oversaw military operations and military intelligence. He has served in the Military Operations Directorate on three separate occasions, once as lieutenant colonel, brigadier and major general.

Lt. General Azhar Abbas

Next in senority is Lt. General Azhar Abbas who was commissioned into the Baloch regiment. He is currently serving as the chief of general staff, one of the most important posts in the army.

Before his current posting he served as commander X corp. He has also served as the commandant infantry school, and as GOC Murree.

Lt. General Nauman Mahmood

Although, he isn’t the highest on the seniority list, Lt. General Nauman Mahmood boasts a strong career. He is considered an an expert on the security of Pakistan’s western border.

Commissioned to the Baloch regiment, General Mahmood is currently serving as president of the National Defence University. His last posting was as corp commander Peshawar.

As a brigadier, he served in the XI corp and as a major general he commanded a division in North Waziristan where he supervised fencing along the Afghanistan border. He has also served in ISI’s analysis wing and as the inspector general of communications and information technology (IG C&IT).

Lt. General Faiz Hameed

Lt. General Faiz Hameed is currently serving as corp commander Bahawalpur. He has also served as corp commander Peshawar and DG ISI.

Commissioned in the Baloch Regiment, he served as then Lt. General Bajwa’s chief of staff when he was commanding X corp.

As a major general he commanded a division in Pannu Aqil, and has also served as ISI’s director counter intelligence. Before he took charge as DG ISI he also briefly served as adjutant general.

Lt. General Muhammad Amir

An artillery officer, Lt. General Muhammad Amir has served as the military secretary to Asif Ali Zardari when he was president. .

He served as the director general staff duties under General Raheel Sharif when the latter was COAS, where he oversaw the working of the army chief’s secretariat. As a major general he commanded the Lahore division.

He has also served as the adjutant general and is currently serving as the commander of Gujranwala Corp.

Even though an agreement is said to have been reached about appointing the most senior of officers as the army chief, the prime minister is well within his rights to appoint anyone, even the junior most officer, out of the names provided by GHQ.