Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday said that the notification regarding the Chief of Defence Forces’ (CDF) appointment would be issued “in due course of time”, the process for which had started.
“Please be informed that the process has been initiated. PM is returning shortly. Notification will be issued in due course of time,” Asif said in a post on social media platform X.
The CDF position, created under the 27th Constitutional Amendment, replaced the now-abolished office of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), which formally ended on Nov 27. It will be a dual-hatted position combined with the office of the army chief.
Officials and observers had expected the new notification to coincide with the abolition of the CJCSC post, but November 29 was seen as a critical marker, being the date on which the original three-year tenure of the incumbent Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Field Marshal Asim Munir, was set to expire.
Asif’s statement came as the November 29 date passed without any notification being issued to formally appoint the country’s first CDF.
His statement implies that the notification will be issued upon Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s return to the country, who is currently visiting London. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told that the PM would return to Pakistan on Monday.
Separately, Khawaja Asif said on Sunday expressed concerns about Israel’s commitment to peace in Gaza, saying that Muslim countries that had supported the peace treaty may need to “reassess their stance” in the face of continued violations of the fragile ceasefire in the region.
Despite the declaration of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on October 9, Israel has continued to bombard the territory while a long-term plan for peace is discussed.
The defence minister posted today on social media platform X that the ceasefire agreement had been criticised for being one-sided and that Israeli forces “continue to violate the truce, killing Palestinians including children”.
“The agreement, signed in Sharm el-Sheikh, was meant to bring stability to the region, but Israel’s actions have raised concerns about its commitment to the deal,” Asif said.
The defence minister added, “Muslim countries that supported the treaty, including Türkiye, Egypt, and Qatar, may need to reassess their stance given the ongoing violence.
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already expressed concerns, stating that the ceasefire agreement shouldn’t be mistaken for a final settlement to the Palestinian issue,” he said.
Asif pointed out that since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, at least 352 Palestinians had been killed, while over 70,000 people had lost their lives in Gaza since the start of the conflict.
He added that Amnesty International had warned that “Israel’s genocide is not over, and the international community especially western governments must keep pressuring Israel to abide by international law”.