A senior Pakistani minister today said that the government ‘is preparing to appoint a new Army Chief within a week or 10 days to replace incumbent General Raheel Sharif who is poised to retire by end of November’.
“The government has not yet decided as to who will be the new army chief but is likely to announce his name in week or ten days' time," Tariq Fazl Chaudhry, State Minister for Capital Administration, said.
General Raheel had announced several months ago that he will not seek a second term unlike his predecessor General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani.
The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been under pressure to rename the successor of General Raheel to end uncertainty amidst domestic and external security challenges.
Under the law, it is prerogative of the Prime Minister to appoint the new army chief.
His power are absolute in this regard but outgoing chief can give his advice.
Prime Minister can pick any of the senior lieutenant general as army chief and he is not bound to follow he seniority of the officers.
