Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa began his farewell visits as he visited Mangla and Sialkot garrisons, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday.
As per Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), COAS Bajwa met officers and men at both locations and addressed the troops.
“COAS appreciated formations for their excellent performance during various operations, training, and natural calamities,” according to the ISPR press release.
COAS gave troops advice to continue serving the country with “the same fervor and commitment no matter what the conditions they face.”
Earlier, COAS was welcomed by Lieutenant Generals Muhammad Aamer and Ayman Bilal Safdar at the Mangla garrison in Sialkot upon arrival.
COAS Bajwa allegedly announced last month that he would retire on November 29 as scheduled, putting a stop to rumors that he could ask for another extension.
The COAS also reportedly stated that from now onwards Pakistan’s military will not play any role in the country’s politics and the military has decided to remain “apolitical”.
Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Nadeem Raza’ is also due to retire on November 27.
Background discussions with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) revealed that an intense consultation process was underway to select one of the six top-ranking generals as the next chief of army staff.
Those on the list are Lt Gen Asim Munir, currently serving in GHQ as Quartermaster General; Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Corps Commander Rawalpindi X; Lt Gen Azhar Abbas, Chief of General Staff (CGS); Lt Gen Nauman Mehmood, President National Defence University (NDU); Lt Gen Faiz Hamid, Corps Commander Bahawalpur; and Lt Gen Mohammad Amir, Corps Commander XXX in Gujranwala.
After serving in his position for six years, General Bajwa will step down on November 29. Then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appointed him in 2016, and then-Prime Minister Imran Khan gave him a further three-year term in 2019.
Following months of controversy, the Supreme Court intervened to grant the three-year extension. The government was also instructed by the Supreme Court to introduce legislation in parliament authorizing the service chief’s reappointment.
The parliament after consensus among the then opposition parties including PML-N, PPP, JUI-F, and others allowed the then prime minister Imran Khan to extend the tenure of the service chief at his discretion and fixed 64 as the age at which a service chief must retire.
The Chief of Army Staff (CAS) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) are traditionally appointed by the prime minister from among a list of senior-most lieutenant generals that the General Headquarters (GHQ) presents to the Ministry of Defense (COAS).
The candidate with the highest experience who was elevated to the rank of two-star general in September 2018 is Lt Gen Asim Munir. On November 27, his term as a lieutenant general would come to an end.
Lt Gen Munir, regarded as a close aide of COAS Bajwa has commanded troops in the Force Command Northern Areas.
He was subsequently named the DG of Military Intelligence in early 2017 and the ISI chief in October of that same year. He was replaced by Lt. Gen. Faiz Hamid after just eight months at the request of the then-Prime Minister Imran Khan, making his time as the DG ISI the shortest in history.
He was appointed as the commander of the Gujranwala Corps, which he held for two years, before being transferred to the GHQ as the Quartermaster General.
After his promotion to the three-star rank, he was initially appointed adjutant-general at the GHQ in April 2019 and later appointed as DG ISI in June 2019. He also served as corps commander, Peshawar and presently is corps commander, Bahawalpur.
