Islamabad
\nPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari held a meeting at the Prime Minister\u2019s House on Tuesday to discuss the \u201coverall situation\u201d of the country.
\nA statement released by Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said the former president enquired about PM Shehbaz\u2019s well-being and was thanked for his visit.
\nIt is pertinent to mention here that Shehbaz had tested positive for Covid-19 on November 15 after returning from the UK. It was the third time the prime minister had tested positive for the virus.
\nThe meeting between the two leaders today was held amid the process for the next army chief\u2019s appointment.
\nA day ago, the prime minister had sought a defence ministry summary for the appointment of the new army chief, along with the service dossiers of all prospe\u00adctive candidates, as the government seems set to name outgoing Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa\u2019s successor by Friday.
\nSpeaking in Monday\u2019s National Assembly session, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said his ministry had received the prime minister\u2019s letter, asking for the initiation of the appointment process on Monday, which had been forwarded to General Headquarters.
\nHe said the summary, along with the service dossiers of the senior-most lieutenant generals proposed for elevation and appointment as chief of army staff and chairman joint chiefs of staff committee, was likely to be sent to the Prime Minister\u2019s Office (PMO) within two days.
\nSpeaking on a point of order, he said it was possible that the process of the army chief\u2019s appointment would be completed in two to three days.
\nBlaming the media for giving the matter too much hype, Asif said: \u201cThe media itself is in a state of confusion \u2026 I request them from the floor of this house to maintain the sanctity of the process\u201d.
\nEarlier on Monday, sections of the media had speculated that the summary for the appointment of the chief of army staff had already reached the PMO. Asif, however, told reporters after a meeting with the prime minister that there was no summary as yet.
\n\u201cWe are not under pressure, nor are we in a hurry. The process is expected to be completed by Nov 25,\u201d he had asserted.
\nGen Bajwa is retiring on Nov 29, while Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Nadeem Raza would retire on Nov 27.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari held a meeting at the Prime Minister\u2019s House on Tuesday to discuss the \u201coverall situation\u201d of the country. A statement released by Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said the former president enquired about PM Shehbaz\u2019s well-being and was thanked for his visit. It is pertinent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296821,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[449,5822,1818],"class_list":{"0":"post-296785","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-asif-ali-zardari","9":"tag-pm-shehbaz-sharif","10":"tag-situation"},"yoast_head":"\n