Daily Times

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif announced on Monday that the process of making appointments to the top slots of the Pakistan Army had begun and the General Headquarters (GHQ) Rawalpindi had already been informed about it.

Speaking in the National Assembly, Kh Asif said his ministry has received the prime minister’s letter about initiating the process for the next army chief’s
appointment, adding that the letter has been communicated to the GHQ as well. “The process will complete in two to three days. The excitement will end, after which we will deal with Imran Khan,” he told the Lower House. Earlier in the day, Asif tweeted that the army chief’s appointment process would be completed soon in line with all constitutional requirements.

He said there was a state of “unrest” now that the process for the appointment was initiated. “It’s possible that tomorrow or the day after tomorrow or two days later or three days later this whole process will reach its completion and this unrest will subside.” Commenting on news regarding the army chief’s appointment, Khawaja Asif said, “Fake news was spread regarding the appointment of an institution’s head. This institution has had a role in the past, which was extra-constitutional. Today, the institution wants to play their role based on the constitution. Today, after 75 years, the institution wants to obey the constitution which shouldn’t be hindered.”

The defence minister criticised the media for contributing to the charged atmosphere by airing news about whether the summary of the army chief candidates was sent or not but not bothering to verify the information. Asif said the process was being treated as if it was the only issue in the country today and nothing else. “This distress is at a time when our economy is weak and we can’t stand on our feet. Hopefully, our effort is that this process passes so we can go towards stability,” he said, hoping that this threshold of the appointment would be crossed in the next two to three days. Separately, in an informal talk with reporters in Islamabad, Asif ruled out reports of a deadlock over the name of the new army chief. “There is no deadlock. Once the summary is received, then a discussion will be held,” the senior PML-N leader said. The defence minister said the prime minister would take the army leadership into confidence, following which a decision would be taken.