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.
