ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister Office has received the summary for the appointment of new Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) containing names of six eligible candidates, it’s revealed on Tuesday.
As per details, Lieutenant General Asim Munir, Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad, Lieutenant General Azhar Abbas, Lieutenant General Numan, Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed and Lieutenant General Muhammad Amir are among the names on list.
Along with next army chief, the prime minister will also select the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had written to the relevant ministry, seeking nominations for the next chief of army staff.
Subsequently, Federal Defense Minister Khawaja Asif had confirmed that a letter had been sent to the military high command to provide a list of eligible candidates.
On Tuesday, Khawaja Asif said that the entire process would take around 48 hours to complete and that a response to the ministry’s letter was expected either later on Tuesday or on Wednesday.
Earlier, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif had said the process to appoint the new army chief had kicked off as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formally wrote a letter to the Ministry of Defense seeking a summary for the potential candidates.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly on Monday, the defense minister hinted at the formal announcement of the key appointment within the next three days.
“The process will complete in two to three days. The excitement will end, after which we will deal with Imran Khan.” the defense minister said.
