The Prime Minister's Office has reportedly received a summary for appointing the new chief of army staff (COAS). PM has the discretionary powers for appointing the four-star generals in the army.
Here is a brief introduction of all six contenders:
Lt General Asim Munir
Lt General Asim Munir, the Quartermaster General at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, is at the top of the list in terms of seniority. General Asim has diversified experience in the army. He has served as Corps Commander Gujranwala. He was also the DG ISI from October 2018 to June 2019. Gen Asim also served as DG Military Intelligence.
Lt General Sahir Shamshad Mirza
Lt General Sahir Shamshad Mirza is the second in the seniority list. He is Corps Commander Rawalpindi. He also served as Chief of General Staff (CGS), a key position most army chiefs held in the past. CGS is known as the de facto army chief since he heads both the operational and intelligence directorates in the army. In simple words, every file in the army goes through his table. Previously he served as Director General Military Operations.
Lt General Sahir Shamshad Mirza
Lt General Sahir Shamshad Mirza is third in the seniority list. He is currently the CGS, considered a crucial position within the army hierarchy. He also served as Corps Commander Rawalpindi and GOC Murree.
Lt General Numan Mahmood
Lt General Numan Mahmood is the fourth in the seniority list. He is currently the President of the National Defence University. He was serving as Corps Commander Peshawar before being replaced by Lt General Faiz Hameed in November 2021.
Lt General Faiz
The fifth in the seniority list is Lt General Faiz Hameed who is currently posted as Corps Commander Bahawalpur. Previously he served as Corps Commander Peshawar. He had a long stint at the ISI — first as DG Counter-Intelligence and then as DG ISI.
Lt General Muhammad Amir
Lt General Muhammad Amir, the current corps commander Gujranwala, is also in contention for the army chief. During his career, he commanded units, brigades and divisions of the Pakistan Army.