ISLAMABAD: It is almost time for the government to make what is likely to be one of the toughest calls of its tenure: who to appoint as the next chief of Pakistan\u2019s Army.<\/p>\n
A senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader \u2014 a member of the federal cabinet \u2014 hinted in background discussions that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif could initiate discussions on the appointment by the end of August, and pos\u00ads\u00adibly take a decision by mid-September.<\/p>\n
The general perception is that he will consult his allies in the ruling coalition before making a final call. A source in the Pakistan Peoples Party, however, suggested that the party may not want to get involved as it is the prime minister\u2019s prerogative to make the decision.<\/p>\n
According to Article 243(3) of the Constitution, the president appoints the services chiefs on the recommendation of the prime minister.<\/p>\n
Four of the six top Lt-Gens at the time of Gen Bajwa\u2019s retirement will be from the same batch, while a fifth is senior to almost the entire lot.<\/strong><\/p>\n Schedule V-A of the Rules of Business, which elaborates the cases to be presented to the prime minister for his approval, states that: \u201c[\u2026] the appointment of, and above the rank of, lieutenant-general in the army and equivalent ranks in the other Defence Services will be made by the prime minister in consultation with the president.\u201d<\/p>\n The manner in which this process plays out, however, is less clearly defined in the rule books. Nor have any specific criteria been laid down for consideration for elevation, except for the vague condition that the general chosen to lead the army should have commanded a corps.<\/p>\n The tradition is that General Headquarters (GHQ) sends a list of the four to five senior-most lieutenant-generals, along with their personnel files, to the Ministry of Defence, which then forwards them to the prime minister to pick the officer he finds best suited to the role.<\/p>\n Theoretically, the defence ministry can vet the names before presenting them to the prime minister, but that does not usually happen and the ministry acts merely as a post office.<\/p>\n The credentials of the generals are then deliberated either at Prime Minister\u2019s Office or in the cabinet. The matter comes down to the prime minister\u2019s \u2018informal consultation\u2019 with the outgoing army chief, his own perceptions and his discussions with his closest advisors.<\/p>\n Keen observers also talk about an \u2018institutional recommendation\u2019, which is given to the prime minister about a particular candidate. However, at least two former defence secretaries have rubbished this claim. They insist that it is only the outgoing army chief, during his \u2018informal consultation\u2019 with the prime minister, who provides personal input on who he thinks should succeed him.<\/p>\n Of the ten army chiefs the country has had since 1972, five were appointed by the incumbent\u2019s elder brother, Mian Nawaz Sharif, in separate tenures as prime minister. The elder Sharif was repeatedly criticised for appointing officers he saw as an \u2018apna banda\u2019 (his man). Ironically, none of the appointments worked out very well for him.<\/p>\n The experience has reportedly left the Sharifs with the belief that they will never quite get it right. Some PML-N leaders said in background interviews that they have, therefore, more or less decided that instead of succumbing to the temptation of finding an \u2018ideal\u2019 candidate, they will make the appointment based on seniority alone.<\/p>\n \u201cThen, no matter how things turn out, we will at least be content that no personal choices were involved,\u201d one party leader said.<\/p>\n However, another group within the party speculates that PM Shehbaz Sharif may simply go along with the current chief\u2019s advice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ISLAMABAD: It is almost time for the government to make what is likely to be one of the toughest calls of its tenure: who to appoint as the next chief of Pakistan\u2019s Army. A senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader \u2014 a member of the federal cabinet \u2014 hinted in background discussions that Prime Minister […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277549,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-277547","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-editorial"},"yoast_head":"\n