Aamer Raza meets Field Marshal Asim Munir after taking strategic command role

General Aamer Raza met Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Monday, days after being promoted to four-star rank and appointed Commander of the National Strategic Command.

The Inter-Services Public Relations said Field Marshal Munir congratulated him on assuming command. On his arrival at GHQ, General Raza was presented a guard of honour, the military’s media wing said.

During the visit, General Raza laid a floral wreath at Yadgar-i-Shuhada and offered prayers for the martyrs.

New post created under constitutional changes

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had announced on Friday that General Raza was being elevated to the rank of a four-star general and appointed CNSC. The Prime Minister’s Office said the premier congratulated him and wished him well for “undertaking this important responsibility”.

The CNSC office was created under last year’s 27th Constitutional Amendment, which reshaped the military chain of command and transferred the nuclear manager role previously exercised by the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee to the new post. The amendment also created the office of Chief of Defence Forces for a unified command structure across the armed forces.

Under the constitutional changes, the appointment, reappointment and extension of the CNSC are tied solely to the recommendation of the CDF. The amendment further states that the appointment, reappointment or extension of the CNSC, or the exercise of discretion by the appointing authority in that regard, cannot be challenged before any court on any ground whatsoever.

Field Marshal Asim Munir was appointed the country’s first Chief of Defence Forces after the passage of the 27th Amendment.

General Raza has previously received the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) and Sitara-i-Basalat.