“GHQ has forwarded the summary for selection of CJCSC and COAS, containing names of six senior most lt gens to Ministry of Defence,” tweeted the Inter Services Public Relations Director General Lieutenant General Babar Iftikhar. The ISPR’s statement came minutes after Defence Minister Khawaja Asif categorically rejected the rumours claiming that the Prime Minister’s Office has received the much-anticipated summary for the appointment of the new chief of army staff.
Taking to Twitter, Khawaja Asif said that the PM’s Office has not yet received the summary. The PMO will receive the summary at the confirmed time.”
Earlier in the day, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that a decision on who will be the next chief of army staff would be made public over the next 48 hours.
During a TV program, Asif was asked about the status of the appointment process, to which he said that there would not be any undue delay in the process. “I am asking for another 48 hours,” he said.
He added that once they get the summary, then it is a formal move because then it has to go to the cabinet (for endorsement). “Then the advice will go to the President, then hopefully the same day or the next day that will be sorted out,” he explained. “The names [of the new army chief and the chairman joint chiefs of staff] will be public in a day or two,” he said. Asif expressed confidence that a “smooth transaction” would take place in appointing the new chief.
Earlier, expressing his concerns over delay in appointing the new army chief, PML-N senior leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had warned that reluctance in sending a much-anticipated summary for the coveted post is a “violation of the constitution”. Speaking to a private TV channel, the former prime minister stressed the concerned authorities to send the summary at the earliest so that the prime minister could decide on it swiftly. “Entire Pakistan is awaiting who will become the new army chief,” he added. It would not be appropriate if the name of an incompetent person is included in the summary of the army chief candidates, he said, adding that in such case, the matter could be challenged in court.
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