— PTI, PMLN, PPP call for appointing new army chief on merit
— Nawaz, Shehbaz hold fourth meeting without any conclusion
ISLAMABAD: Three major political parties of the country – PTI, PMLN and PPP – are building their political narratives around the appointment of the next chief of army staff and the leaders of both the parties are accusing each other of violating the merit policy.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa is set to retire on November 29 and the PML-N — the major stakeholder in the ruling coalition — has been mulling options to appoint the new officer as Gen Bajwa’s successor.
It is, however, interesting to note that all the three parties had supported a law in January, 2020, to award extension in tenure of the chiefs of the armed forces, enabling General Qamar Javed Bajwa get another full term in office.
Under the move, both Houses of the Parliament had voted to pass three bills that set a higher retirement age for the chiefs of the Pakistani army, navy and air force, allowing the prime minister to extend their terms at his discretion.
While PML-N’s supremo Nawaz Sharif held another quiet meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in London to discuss the appointment of next army chief, the PTI, PML-N and PPP leaders accused each other for violating the merit policy in this regard.
It was PTI chief Imran Khan who on Friday accused the PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif of violating the merit-policy in appointment of the next army chief.
“The next army chief should be appointed on merit …. but the incumbent coalition government would violate merit as the [PML-N supremo] Nawaz Sharif would not let it happen because he wants to control the institutions to save his looted wealth,” said Khan in his speech made to the participants of the long march broadcast through a video link in Gujrat.
The PML-N responded to Khan’s allegations the same evening. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal criticised PTI Chairman Imran Khan for being the only politician in the country’s history to play politics on the army chief’s appointment.
Appearing in talk show, Iqbal said it was ‘regrettable’ that someone for the first time in the country’s history was trying to play politics on the issue.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will announce the army chief’s appointment in time on merit and professional basis,” he said and added that the next army chief will be announced before November 29.
“When the prime minister returns to the country, he will make the announcement in the next few days or two,” he said and added that the prime minister had his ‘eyes’ on the issue and the announcement would be done at the “appropriate time”.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will only have one criterion for the army chief’s appointment: maintaining Pakistan’s impenetrable defence and taking the military’s professionalism to a higher standard.
“We have to do the army chief’s appointment on a professional, instead of political, basis”.
Iqbal said the issue was a “routine appointment” and speculation should be avoided on the matter.
In a TV interview, PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira — whose party also holds an important position in the ruling alliance — said merit would determine who becomes the next army chief.
“The [government] will appoint the next army chief from among the top-five senior generals,” Kaira said and mentioned that PM Shehbaz would return to Pakistan and deliberate over the matter with the government leadership and PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
Lashing out at PTI Chairman Imran Khan, Kaira said the person against whom Khan has reservations was the same man with whom he spent four years in power.
Nawaz, Shehbaz discuss appointment of next army chief in London
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in London on Friday to discuss the appointment the military’s senior-most officer as the next army chief. PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz was also present.
It was fourth meeting without any decision being taken.
Apart from the crucial matter of the army chief’s appointment, the high-level huddle took important decisions in London and the PML-N will later take the coalition partners into confidence over them.
Sources said that PM Shahbaz is now returning to Pakistan, following the meetings and he would announce a decision after consultation with the coalition parties’ leaders. He had arrived in the British capital after concluding his two-day visit to Egypt, where he attended the COP27 summit.
