Gen Asim will remain army chief until 2028: Khawaja Asif

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Monday that General Asim Munir will now remain the army chief until 2028.

Khawaja Asif's statement came shortly after the government passed a bill, extending the tenure of the army chief from three years to five years.

Khawaja Asif said the new legislation has closed the doors on extensions to army chiefs and the future governments would also benefit from this legislation. He said that parliament's endorsement was required in the past to extend the tenure of an army chief. 

Shortly before Khawaja Asif confirmed that Gen Asim would stay as army chief until 2028, the National Assembly of Pakistan passed amendments to the Pakistan (Army/Air Force/Navy) Act Amendment Bill 2024, increasing the tenures of service chiefs from three to five years. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif presented the bill.

According to the statement of objects and reasons for the amendments presented by the defence minister, “The purpose of these amendments is to make consistent the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, The Pakistan Navy Ordinance, 1961 and The Pakistan Air Force Act, 1953 with the maximum tenure of the Chief of the Army Staff, the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff and to make consequential amendments for uniformity in the aforementioned laws."