Islamabad: Pakistan is gearing up for its new Army chief with the highly popular current Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif embarking on his farewell visits nearly a week before he is expected to retire.
According to top Pakistan government sources, Lt Gen Ashfaq Nadeem and Let Gen Zuber Hayat are in contention for the top post. Hayat is the senior most officer after Gen Sharif and is the Chief of General Staff while Lt Gen Zubair is the Multan Corps Commander. Also in the running are Lt Gen Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmed, Bahawalpur Corps Commander Lt Gen Javed Iqbal Ramday and Inspector General Training and Evaluation Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.
A final decision will be taken by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who will be guided by “personal choices, political considerations, and, in a couple of cases, his own experience of working with the candidates."
Meanwhile, Gen Sharif began his visits on Monday at the Lahore Garrison where he addressed and thanked a huge gathering of soldiers of Pakistan Army and Rangers, according to Dawn.
Addressing the soldiers, Gen Sharif said accomplishment of peace and stability in the insurgency-torn country was “no ordinary task".
The army spokesman had in January rubbished rumours regarding an extension in Gen Sharif's tenure as Chief of Army Staff, quoting the army chief as saying he will “retire on the due date" in November this year.
Dawn said speculation had been rife regarding an extension to Gen Sharif after former military ruler Musharraf called for an extension in his tenure, warning against a change in the military leadership.
Unlike in other democratic nations, the army chief in Pakistan is a crucial post because of the country’s history of military coups. Sharif would be the first army chief to retire on time in two decades. His predecessors Gen Kayani and Gen Pervez Musharraf got extensions, while Gen Jehangir Karamat was sent home prematurely.
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