Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif have held an important consultation meeting regarding the appointment of the new army chief.
Sources said the Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Malik Ahmed Khan and Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (DG ISI) were present in the meeting.
Sources told Aaj News that following the meeting the development regarding the matter was expected soon.
Sources said that PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has also met with the premier at the Prime Minister House and discussed the overall political situation.
Earlier reports emerged that Prime Minister’s Office has received the summary for the appointment of the new army chief and that the list includes five names of the senior-most military officials.
The report said that in the list Lt Gen Asim Munir is at the top on seniority bases. Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza at the second, Lt Gen Azhar Abbas at third, Lt Gen Nauman Mehmood fourth, Lt Gen Faiz Hamid stood at fifth place in the race as per his seniority.
Meanwhile, Khawaja Asif rejected the reports regarding receiving the summary, saying that the PM’s Office had not received the summary yet. But it would be “received on a confirm time”, the defence minister said in a tweet.
PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz also rebutted the reports, saying that the statement attributed to the defense minister was not correct.
“The summary regarding the appointment of the Army Chief has not yet been received by the Prime Minister’s House, speculations should not be made,” she said in a tweet adding that the PM’s Office would inform after receiving the summary.
Sources citing Khawaja Asif said that the names would be finalized on November 24 and the process of appointing the army chief would be completed by November 25. The summary would be moved within a day or two, they added.
“There is no deadlock over the appointment of the army chief. Once the summary is received the names will be discussed,” sources quoted Khawaja Asif as saying, adding that the PML-N was consulting its allies over the appointment, and there was no pressure on the government regarding the army chief’s appointment.
A day earlier, Asif said that the Ministry of Defence had received Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s letter regarding the appointment of the new army chief. Addressing the National Assembly, Khawaja Asif said that the process would be completed in two to three days.
Later that day, the minister announced on his official Twitter handle that the process of appointing the new army chief and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee (CJCSC) had begun.
Speaking on Aaj News programme on Monday night, former prime minister and PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that it was a ‘big failure’ that the summary had not been moved yet. He also warned that if any “ineligible” name would be included on the list of generals, it would be illegal and then the matter could be challenged in court. It would be also illegal to not include “eligible” name to the list, he added.
