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Monday, December 23, 2024  
20 Jumada Al-Akhirah 1446  

General Asim Munir to take charge as new army chief tomorrow

General Bajwa will hand over the baton to the new army chief
Newly appointed army chief General Syed Asim Munir Shah. File photo
Newly appointed army chief General Syed Asim Munir Shah. File photo

General Asim Munir will take over the command of the Pakistan Army on Tuesday, November 29, as General Qamar Javed Bajwa is all set to retire from the post after completing his six-year stint as the chief of army staff.

The outgoing army chief General Bajwa will hand over his stick to the new COAS, who will be the 11th Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army.

Before 1976, the head of the army was called Commander-in-Chief. From 1947 to 1972, Pakistan had a total of 6 Commanders in Chief. Hence, General Asim Munir, after including those six commanders-in-chiefs, will become the 17th chief of Pakistan Army.

An eminent change of command ceremony will be held tomorrow at the General Headquarters (GHQ) to welcome the new chief of the army staff, in which General Asim Munir will take charge as COAS and General Bajwa will hand over the baton to the new army chief.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had named the then Lt. Gen Asim Munir on November 24, to take charge of the army.

Meanwhile, General Qamar Javed Bajwa will also hold farewell meetings with President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Following the approval of the names for two top slots in the military, General Munir held separate meetings with President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz.

General Asim Munir joined Pakistan Army from the Mangala Officers Training School programme and 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 Military Intelligence in the year 2017.

General Munir was appointed as Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (DG ISI) in 2018.

He was then posted as Corps Commander Gujranwala in 2019. At the time General Munir is picked for promotion to four-star general, he is serving as the Quarter Master at the General Headquarters (GHQ).

Gen Asim Munir is a Hafiz-e-Quran and is the first army chief who has headed both the MI and ISI in the past.

A timeline of Pakistan’s chiefs from 1947 to 2022

  • General Sir Frank Walter Meseravi August 15, 1947 to February 10, 1948
  • General Sir Douglas David Gracie February 11, 1948 to January 16, 1951
  • Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan from January 17, 1951 to 27 October 1958
  • General Muhammad Musa Khan from October 27, 1958 to September 17, 1966
  • General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan from September 18, 1966 to December 20, 1971
  • Lt. Gen. Gul Hasan Khan from December 20, 1971 to March 3, 1972
  • General Tikka Khan from March 3, 1972 to March 1, 1976
  • General Muhammad Ziaul Haq from March 1 to August 17, 1988
  • General Mirza Aslam Baig from August 17, 1988 to August 16, 1991
  • General Asif Nawaz Janjua from August 16, 1991 to January 8, 1993
  • General Abdul Waheed Kakar from January 11, 1993 to January 12, 1996
  • General Jahangir Karamat from January 12, 1996 to October 6, 1998
  • General Pervez Musharraf from October 6, 1998 to November 29, 2007
  • General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani from November 29, 2007 to November 29, 2013
  • General Raheel Sharif from November 29, 2013 to November 29, 2016
  • General Qamar Javed Bajwa from November 29, 2016 to November 29, 2022

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Army Chief

COAS

General Qamar Javed Bajwa

Gen Asim Munir