ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister’s Office said on Wednesday it had received from the ministry of defense the names of the top contenders for the post of army chief, as the government moves to vet nominations for arguably the most powerful office in the country.

General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who has been the army chief since 2016 and received an extension in service in 2019, will retire on November 29.

On Tuesday night, a military spokesperson said on Twitter a “summary” containing names of six senior-most lieutenant generals had been sent to the country’s defense ministry for the selection of a new army chief and chairman Joints Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC).

The appointment of a new army chief will have a crucial bearing on the future of the South Asian nation’s burgeoning democracy, and set the tone for relations with India, Afghanistan, China and the United States.

“The PM Office has received the summary from the Ministry of Defense with a panel of names for the appointment of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of the Army Staff,” the office of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted. “The Prime Minister will take a decision on the appointments as per the laid down procedure.”

Among the main contenders for the army chief’s post are Lieutenants-Generals Asim Munir, the army’s quartermaster general, Azhar Abbas, the chief of general staff, Nauman Mahmood, president of the National Defense University, and Faiz Hameed, the former chief of Pakistan’s premier Inter-Services Intelligence agency and currently the commander of the army’s Bahawalpur Corps.

Repeated comments by defense minister Khawaja Asif in the last week that the new chief would be announced by November 26 have given rise to speculation that the government’s choice is Lt Gen Munir, who is technically the senior-most of the top contenders but is set to retire on November 27, two days before the incumbent hangs up his uniform. He thus needs to be appointed before November 27 in order to become chief.

An army chief’s tenure is for three years from the date of appointment, but they often obtain extensions, as Bajwa did in 2019.