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RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) headquarters on Monday, according to a statement from the military’s media wing.
According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army chief was received by Director-General ISI Lieutenant General Faiz Hamid. COAS was briefed on “internal security and the ongoing situation in Afghanistan”, the ISPR added.
The military’s media wing further said that the COAS expressed his satisfaction over the preparedness of the organisation.
The army chief’s visit came after the ISPR on October 6 announced the appointment of Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum – the Corps Commander, Karachi – as the DG ISI, the most coveted slot within the military hierarchy after the army chief.
However, the Prime Minister’s Office has since not issued an official notification of Lt Gen Anjum’s appointment, leading to rumours about strains in civil-military relations.
On October 12, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry had said that the authority to appoint the ISI chief lay with the prime minister, and that the set procedure would be followed for the purpose.
Chaudhry had said that PM Imran and the army chief had a “long sitting” the previous night to discuss the matter and the premier had subsequently taken the cabinet into confidence over the issue.
“Gen Bajwa and the prime minister have close and cordial relations. And it is also important from a historical perspective that there are ideal relations between Pakistan’s civilian and military leaderships,” he had added.
On Saturday, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed claimed that the issue of the ISI chief’s appointment had been amicably settled between the civil and military leadership. He said the spymaster would be appointed before Friday.
