Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday named General Lieutenant-General Asim Munir as the new chief of the country’s powerful army, the information minister said on Twitter.
Pakistan on Thursday named Lieutenant-General Asim Munir as chief of the army, an organization that plays an extraordinarily influential role in the governance of the nuclear-armed nation.
Munir, who was also Pakistan’s chief spy, will take over from outgoing General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who retires later this month after a six-year term, the defense ministry said.
His appointment comes at a time when the military is at odds with former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who blames the army for his ouster earlier this year.
“It is based on merit, law, and the constitution,” Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said after naming Munir as the new chief.
The army has historically played a disproportionate role in both domestic and foreign politics, and Munir’s appointment could have an impact on Pakistan’s fragile democracy, relations with neighboring India, and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, as well as the country’s pivot toward China or the United States.
On Wednesday, outgoing army chief Bajwa said the military would play no role in national politics in the future, dismissing Khan’s claims that a US-backed conspiracy topped his government as “fake and false.”
Khan, who was injured in a gun attack during anti-government protests earlier this month, has vowed to continue calling for early elections and plans to lead a protest on Saturday in Rawalpindi, the army’s headquarters.
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