ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Sunday the process for the appointment of the country’s new chief of defense forces (CDF) has been initiated and a notification in this regard would be issued in “due course of time.”

The CDF position, created under the 27th constitutional amendment, replaced the office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, which formally ended on Nov 27 with the retirement of General Sahir Shamshad Mirza. Under the amendment and subsequent changes to the Army Act, the army chief will simultaneously serve as the CDF for a five-year term.

While the notification regarding the CDF’s appointment was expected to coincide with the abolition of the CJCSC post, many saw Nov. 29 as an important marker in this regard being the date on which the original three-year tenure of the incumbent Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir was set to expire, although a 2024 amendment to the Pakistan Army Act had already extended the tenure of the three services chiefs to five years.

“There is unnecessary and irresponsible speculation about CDF notification,” Asif said on X. “Please be informed that the process has been initiated. PM is returning shortly. Notification will be issued in due course of time. No room for any conjecturing. Period!“

Asif’s statement suggested the notification will be issued upon Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s return to the country. The premier is currently in the United Kingdom to undergo some medical check-ups, according to Pakistani media reports.

Under the restructured military command hierarchy, oversight of joint operations, multi-domain planning and inter-service integration have been consolidated in the newly created position of CDF, merging operational, administrative and strategic authority into a single role.

This means the CDF will be the commander of not just Pakistan’s army but also its air force and navy, and will be appointed for a period of five years. As per the latest constitutional amendment, the field marshal and the president of Pakistan will enjoy lifetime immunity from criminal prosecution.

The 27th amendment, passed this month, effectively gave Munir five more years as Pakistan’s army chief and the CDS. His term will now expire in November 2030.

“On issuance of notification of the first appointment of the Chief of the Army Staff concurrently the Chief of the Defense Forces under this sub-section, the existing tenure of the incumbent Chief of the Army Staff shall be deemed to have recommenced from the date of such notification,” read a copy of the amended Army Act seen by Arab News this month.

This means Munir, who was appointed as Pakistan’s army chief in November 2022, will serve on the post for a total of eight years until 2030. Under the new law, he can also receive a five-year extension in tenure.