Islamabad: Pakistan is considering appointing a former general from the powerful military as the country’s new security chief, an official said Monday, a move critics said demonstrated the army’s rising grip on civilian power.
A senior security official told AFP there was a “strong likelihood” that recently retired General Naseer Janjua would be appointed to the post, presently held by the Prime Minister’s adviser on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to media, said the final decision rests with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, but gave no other details.
Sharif was Monday traveling to the US for talks with President Barack Obama from October 20-23.
The official said the issue has been under discussion at a “very high level” for some time, and local media has also reported Janjua was being considered for the job.
Some analysts hailed the proposal, saying it would go a long way toward increasing coordination between the civil and military leadership of the country.
“The government and military have realized need for enhanced coordination between civil and security agencies to effectively deal with the security issues,” said security analyst Talat Masood.
However critics said it demonstrated the army’s lack of faith in the government.
“The army does not trust the confused civilian leadership, which lacks confidence,” analyst Imtiaz Gul told AFP.
“There is also a lack of trust in the civilian government’s capability in foreign policy and security issues,” he said.
Pakistan officials have blamed India for stirring up a separatist insurgency in Balochistan province.
Janjua, who served in Balochistan, is considered an expert on the province, and Gul said he could “probably support Pakistan’s claim.”
Sharif, who came to power in May 2013 for the third time, has a history of strained ties with the military.
He was first elected in 1990 but sacked three years later on corruption charges. His second term from 1997 to 1999 ended in a military coup by General Pervez Musharraf.
When he took power for his third term in 2013 he vowed to improve relations with Pakistan’s arch-rival India. After the election of his counterpart Narendra Modi in India a year later, hopes were high that a breakthrough might be possible.
Instead a surge in firing across the de-facto Kashmir border since 2014 has claimed dozens of civilian lives on both sides and brought relations to their lowest level in more than a decade.
Ex-general tipped as new Pakistan security chief
Ex-general tipped as new Pakistan security chief
WHO appeals for $1 bn for world’s worst health crises in 2026
- The UN health agency estimated 239 million people would need urgent humanitarian assistance this year and the money would keep essential health services going
GENEVA: The World Health Organization on Tuesday appealed for $1 billion to tackle health crises this year across the world’s 36 most severe emergencies, including in Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The UN health agency estimated 239 million people would need urgent humanitarian assistance this year and the money would keep essential health services going.
WHO health emergencies chief Chikwe Ihekweazu told reporters in Geneva: “A quarter of a billion people are living through humanitarian crises that strip away the most basic protections: safety, shelter and access to health care.
“In these settings, health needs are surging, whether due to injuries, disease outbreaks, malnutrition or untreated chronic diseases,” he warned.
“Yet access to care is shrinking.”
The agency’s emergency request was significantly lower than in recent years, given the global funding crunch for aid operations.
Washington, traditionally the UN health agency’s biggest donor, has slashed foreign aid spending under President Donald Trump, who on his first day back in office in January 2025 handed the WHO his country’s one-year withdrawal notice.
Last year, WHO had appealed for $1.5 billion but Ihekweazu said that only $900 million was ultimately made available.
Unfortunately, he said, the agency had been “recognizing ... that the appetite for resource mobilization is much smaller than it was in previous years.”
“That’s one of the reasons that we’ve calibrated our ask a little bit more toward what is available realistically, understanding the situation around the world, the constraints that many countries have,” he said.
The WHO said in 2026 it was “hyper-prioritising the highest-impact services and scaling back lower?impact activities to maximize lives saved.”
Last year, global funding cuts forced 6,700 health facilities across 22 humanitarian settings to either close or reduce services, “cutting 53 million people off from health care.” Ihekweazu said.
“Families living on the edge face impossible decisions, such as whether to buy food or medicine,” he added, stressing that “people should never have to make these choices.”
“This is why today we are appealing to the better sense of countries, and of people, and asking them to invest in a healthier, safer world.”
