ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shahbaz Sharif has decided to appoint Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza as the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) and Lieutenant General Syed Asim Munir as the Chief of Army Staff by exercising his constitutional powers. .
The PM has sent summary to president Arif Alvi in this regard with his advice. The allies of government and federal cabinet have fully supported this decision of PM.
The two senior army officers are on first and second number as per seniority.
The PM has decided to appoint Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza and Lieutenant General Syed Asim Munir under article 243 of the constitution. The both will be promoted as general the day they assume their respective offices.
Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza will assume the responsibilities as the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee on November 27 and he will replace the sitting CJCSC General Nadeem Raza who will stand retired on November 27 after completing his service tenure.
Lieutenant General Syed Asim Munir will assume the office of Chief of Army Staff on November 29. He has been appointed in place of the incumbent army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa whose six years service tenure as army chief will stand completed on November 29.
The designated army chief Lieutenant General Syed Asim Munir is the senior most officer after outgoing Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa. He is currently serving as Quartermaster General in the Pakistan Army.
Lt-Gen Munir joined the service via the Officers Training School (OTS) programme in Mangla and was commissioned into the 23rd Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment.
Lt-Gen Munir commanded troops in the Force Command Northern Areas as a brigadier under Gen Bajwa, who was then Commander X Corps. He was appointed DG of the Military Intelligence in early 2017 and then ISI Director General in October 2018.
Eight months later, Lt-Gen Munir was posted Gujranwala Corps Commander. He was moved to the GHQ as Quartermaster General two years later.
Lt-Gen Munir is the recipient of the Sword of Honour from the 17th course of the Officers Training School in Mangla. Also, he is the recipient of the Hilal-i-Imtiaz.
He is a ‘Hafiz-e-Quran’ who memorised the Quran during his posting in Saudi Arabia as Lt Colonel
Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza has been shortlisted as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC).
The former commander of Rawalpindi Corps is the recipient of Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) has served at senior leadership positions in his career, including director-general military operations (DGMO), Chief of General Staff, and Adjutant General at the General Headquarters. During his assignment at Military Operations, he also commanded 40th Infantry Division in Okara.
As DGMO, he was part of former COAS General Raheel Sharif’s core team at the GHQ, which supervised the military operation against the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militants in North Waziristan.
He has also served in United Nations-led operations in foreign countries and was conferred with UN Medal for Service in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL Medal).
Mirza was commissioned in the 8th Battalion of the Sind Regiment as second lieutenant in 1985. In 1988, he was promoted as lieutenant and became Captain in 1991.
He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in 2019.
