ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Thursday a decision regarding the appointment of a new chief of army staff was expected in a ‘day or two,’ adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had discussed the issue with ruling party supremo Nawaz Sharif in London this week.
General Qamar Javed Bajwa has been the Pakistan army chief since November 2016. He is scheduled to retire on November 29 this year following the final day of his second three-year term as army chief.
The selection of the new army chief has been mired in controversy in Pakistan in recent months, with widespread speculations that Bajwa might take a second extension, though the military has repeatedly said he would retire on time.
Controversy was sparked again this week as PM Sharif arrived in London for what were widely reported to be discussions with his brother Nawaz, founder of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, on the new appointment. Nawaz lives in exile in London and faces a slew of corruption cases back home in Pakistan.
Opposition leaders have cried foul, saying someone who does not hold government office and has “absconded” from the law should not be part of discussions on arguably the most important appointment in the country.
Speaking to a local TV channel on Thursday night, the Pakistani defense minister, who is also in London and part of the meetings, said the government wanted to deal with the matter of the army chief’s appointment “with dignity” and avoid controversy.
“Views were exchanged on the topic you asked me about, unrest in the country and other affairs,” the defense minister told Pakistan’s Geo news channel, when asked about the army chief’s appointment and whether the issue was discussed at the London meetings.
“I understand that something will come to the fore in a day or two.”
Referring to a statement by the military on Thursday that General Bajwa had started his farewell visits to garrisons, Asif said it was a “major indication where an institution (army) is taking this matter.”
“Instead of making it part of a wider controversy, we want to deal with it with dignity,” he added.
But the meeting between Sharif and his brother has only added to the controversy.
Nawaz was removed from office in July 2017 by the Supreme Court for not declaring income from a company in United Arab Emirates. The court also ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to open a criminal trial into the Panama Paper revelations that showed the involvement of Sharif’s family in offshore companies, including two used to buy luxury homes in London.
In April 2018, the Supreme Court further ruled Sharif was banned from political office for life and in July of that year, a NAB court convicted Sharif of corruption and sentenced him to 10 years in prison.
In November 2019, the three-time former PM left Pakistan on medical bail and has since not returned. He says the cases against him are politically motivated and claims innocence.
In light of this background, opposition politicians have called out PM Sharif for discussing the army chief’s appointment with Nawaz, whom they call an “absconder.”
The appointment of the new army chief has also been in the spotlight as ex-premier Imran Khan, ousted in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence this April, insists the unelected government of PM Sharif, cobbled together through a parliamentary vote after his removal, does not have the right to appoint a new chief. He says the crucial selection should be made by the elected government after new polls are held.
Since his ouster, Khan has also criticized the army, and its chief, for not blocking his ouster and allowing his rivals led by now PM Sharif, who he considers corrupt, to come to power. The military says it remained apolitical in the transition.
Following Khan’s ouster, anti-military Twitter trends and posts calling on Bajwa to resign have become common in a country where the military was long feared and for decades ruled either through coups or as the invisible guiding hand in politics.
The criticism of the military had become so widespread in recent weeks, particularly after the mysterious killing of a pro-Khan Pakistani journalist in Kenya, that the head of Pakistan’s powerful spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), made a rare public appearance last month to question Khan’s motives behind anti-army remarks and portraying Bajwa as a “traitor” among his followers.
This was the first time in Pakistan’s history that the head of the ISI addressed a media briefing.
