Marriyum Aurangzeb, the Minister of Information, announced the appointment on Twitter, putting an end to weeks of speculation about the powerful position. Lieutenant General Asim Munir has been named as Pakistan’s new army chief by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Marriyum Aurangzeb, the information minister, announced the appointment on Twitter on Thursday, putting an end to weeks of speculation about what some call the most powerful position in the South Asian nation.
For nearly half of Pakistan’s 75-year history, the military has directly ruled the country of 220 million people.
Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad will take charge as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Aurangzeb added in her tweet.
Munir will replace General Qamar Javed Bajwa who will end his six-year tenure as army chief on November 29.
PM Sharif held a cabinet meeting earlier on Thursday where he selected Munir from a list of six nominees for the top military post.
Munir is currently posted at the army headquarters in Rawalpindi. He has served briefly as chief of the country’s premier intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Will president approve?
Defence minister Khawaja Asif said the names of Munir and Shamshad have been sent for approval to President Arif Alvi, who is also the supreme commander of Pakistan’s armed forces.
Alvi belongs to the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, headed by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who earlier accused the government of trying to pick a favourite as the army chief.
In a tweet, defence minister Asif wondered if Alvi “will pay heed to political advice or to the constitutional and legal advice”.
“Now this is Imran Khan’s test if he wants to strengthen the institution which defends the country or make it controversial. It is also a test for President Alvi,” Asif wrote.
Soon after Aurangzeb’s announcement on Twitter, the official handle of Khan’s PTI quoted its chief as saying both him and Alvi “will act according to constitution and law”.
Former defence secretary and retired army officer, Asif Yasin Malik, told Al Jazeera Munir has an “impeccable reputation” in the military.
“In the military, your reputation matters a great deal and Asim Munir is very well regarded for his competence and capabilities. So far, his career has been without any controversy and I think he can be a very good chief,” he said, hoping the presidential approval of the nomination goes smoothly.
Islamabad-based security analyst Muhammed Faisal said the new army chief will take charge at a time when the country is in crisis.
“The new chief has to navigate complex political, internal and external challenges, with the economic crisis being the most urgent, as was acknowledged even by the outgoing army chief,” he told Al Jazeera.