New Army Chief Asim Munir orders major reshuffle in Pak army

Many Army Generals, who were eyeing the coveted post, have opted for premature retirement since the appointment of Asim Munir as Pakistan's new Army Chief.

Islamabad, Nov 03: Pakistan's new Army chief General Asim Munir has announced a major reshuffle in his army staff, the force widely perceived as Islamabad's political guise of democracy. Notably, many Army Generals, who hoped to lead the Pakistan army, opted for premature retirement after Munir was appointed as the new Army Chief.

Major General Ahmed Sharif from the corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (EME) will now lead the media wing of Pakistan's Army - Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Sharif will be the first officer from the EME corps to take up the designation. As he became the new head of ISPR, Sharif replaced Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar, according to reports.

The reshuffle was done as the Director General's position of ISPR is for an army officer who is either a major general or a two-star rank holder. In October, Lt Gen Iftikhar was promoted to a three-star general.

Following the reshuffle, Lt Gen Iftikhar will now head to the militarily significant fifth Corps based out of Karachi after being posted as V Corps commander. He replaced Lt Gen Muhammed Saeed.

New Chief of General Staff:

After the appointment of the Army Chief, the question remains as to who would be the second most powerful person in the Pakistan Army as Chief of General Staff? According to reports, Lt Gen Muhammad Saeed, who currently commands Karachi-headquartered fifth Corps, is likely to become the new Chief of General Staff.

Aftereffects of Munir's appointment:

According to reports, Asim Munir's appointment as Army chief caused premature retirement in Pakistan Army. Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, who was the commanding officer at Bahawalpur-headquartered 31 Corps, prematurely demitted office following Asim Munir's appointment as the new Chief of Army Staff (COAS).

Lt Gen Saqib Mehmood Malik is likely to be the commanding officer of 31 Corps, who is currently the Chief of Logistics Staff in Pakistan's army.

Faiz, who was one of the names among six shortlisted individuals sent to the Prime Minister's Office by Rawalpindi, demitted the office prematurely after not getting appointed as Army Chief.

Another Pak army officer who demitted the office prematurely was Lt Gen Azhar Abbas. His name was also one of them finalised to be the new Pak Army chief. He was the second most powerful man in the army as Chief of General Staff (CGS).