Who can succeed Qamar Javed Bajwa as the next Pakistan Army chief?

Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has asserted he would retire at the end of November. Bajwa, whose tenure as the Pakistan Army chief ends on 29 November 2022, claimed he will not seek another term and will step down in about five weeks’ time, Dawn reported.

Bajwa was appointed as the army chief by the then-Pakistan prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, in 2016. His tenure was extended in November 2019 by the then-ruling Pakistan dispensation led by Imran Khan for another three years.

The new Pakistan Army chief would be selected by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and appointed by President Arif Alvi on the basis of the former’s recommendation, as per Dawn.

Who are the candidates that can succeed Qamar Javed Bajwa as the next Pakistan Army chief? We take a look.

Lieutenant General Asim Munir

As per Pakistan daily Dawn, Lieutenant General Asim Munir will be the senior-most among the officers when General Bajwa retires.

His four-year tenure as Lt General will end on 27 November, the month when the posts of COAS and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) become vacant, notes Dawn.

Lt General Munir was appointed in October 2018 as the ISI chief.

He had the shortest term as the top Pakistan intelligence officer as he was replaced within eight months by Lt Gen Faiz Hameed.

Before becoming the ISI head, he served as the DG Military Intelligence.

When Gen Bajwa was the Commander of X Corps, Lt Gen Munir, who was a brigadier then, had commanded troops in the Force Command Northern Areas.

Lt Gen Munir was the Gujranwala Corps commander for two years, before being shifted to the General Headquarters (GHQ) as Quartermaster General, reports Dawn.

ALSO READ: Why Pakistan’s Imran Khan has been banned from holding office for five years

Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza

According to the Pakistan daily, Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza is the frontrunner for the COAS post.

Posted as the Corps Commander Rawalpindi in October 2021, Lt Gen Mirza has enough experience in senior leadership positions.

He served as the director-general military operations (DGMO) from September 2015 to October 2018 and as Chief of General Staff (CGS) at GHQ from November 2019 to September 2021, notes ThePrint.

As the DGMO, he played a vital role in the military operation against the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and ‘other militants’ in North Waziristan, reports Dawn.

Lt General Mirza hails from the Sindh Regiment, the same parent unit as the outgoing CJCSC– General Nadeem Raza. As per Dawn sources, if not the next COAS, then Mirza can also be considered as Raza’s successor.

Lt General Azhar Abbas

Lt General Azhar Abbas is currently the chief of general staff (CGS) at the GHQ.

He also has experience as the commander of the Rawalpindi-based X Corps where he served from September 2019 to September 2021.

According to reports, X Corps is ‘politically significant’ because it is responsible for security along the Line Of Control (LoC) with India.

Abbas has also served as the commandant of the infantry school in Quetta. Moreover, he was the personal staff officer of General Raheel Sharif, the Pakistan Army chief from November 2013 to November 2016.

His other roles include commanding the 12 Infantry Division in Murree, serving as a brigadier in the Operations Directorate and director-general of the Joint Staff Headquarters, ThePrint reports.

Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed

Lt General Faiz Hameed has reportedly known COAS Bajwa for many years.

Belonging to the Baloch Regiment, Lt Gen Hameed is currently the Bahawalpur corps commander. Before that, he was serving as the Peshawar corps commander since his appointment to the post in October 2021.

As a brigadier, Lt Gen Hameed worked as the chief of staff of the X Corps under General Bajwa, who was then commanding the corps.

In a ‘surprise’ miliatry reshuffle, Hameed was made the DG of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in June 2019, the role which he held till October 2021, Dawn reports.

Earlier, he had served as director-general (Counter-Intelligence) at ISI.

Lt Gen Hameed also has experience commanding an infantry division in Pano Aqil, Sindh, when he was a major general.

Lt General Nauman Mehmood Raja

Also from the Baloch Regiment, Lt General Nauman Mehmood Raja is the president of the National Defence University (NDU) since November 2021.

He has commanded an infantry division in North Waziristan, served as director-general (Analysis) at the ISI and as General Officer Commanding (GOC) of an infantry division in Miranshah.

When he became a three-star general in 2019, he took over as the inspector-general of Communications & Information Technology, GHQ.

He was appointed as the corps commander in Peshawar in December 2019 and in 2021 he handed over the post to Lt Gen Faiz Hameed.

Besides the aforementioned names, Lt General Mohammad Amir, who is currently commanding the XXX Corps in Gujranwala, is also likely to be considered for the top army post.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.