‘Gen Kayani’s successor to be named on 28 Nov’

The name of Pakistan army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s successor will be announced a day before he retires on 29 November, information minister Pervaiz Rashid said on Friday.

Prime minister Nawaz Sharif will make a decision on the new army chief on 28 November as the government does not want to disturb the authority of the current head, Rashid said.

The appointment of the new army chief is the right of the premier according to the constitution, he told reporters here.

Kayani has made it clear that he will not seek any further extensions and will retire on 29 November. He was given an unprecedented three-year extension by the previous Pakistan People’s Party-led government in 2010. The prime minister has said he will announce the names of the new Chairman of the Joint chiefs of staff committee and new army chief on the same day. Sharif has also said he will go by seniority.

The appointment of army chiefs has never been easy for civilian governments in Pakistan. If the army has it way, the next head of the Joint Chiefs of staff committee will most likely be Lt Gen Haroon Aslam, currently the most senior general in the army, while naval chief Admiral Asif Sandila could bag the position if it goes to the navy.

Aslam served as director general of military operations, commanded a division of the special services group and headed the Bahawalpur-based XXXI Corps. He led an anti-Taliban drive in Swat Valley in 2009 and is due to retire on 9 April. If Aslam is made the new head of the joint chiefs of staff committee, Lt Gen Rashid Mehmood, chief of general staff, will become the army chief if the government goes by seniority.