Pak Army Chief Hands Over Command To New COAS General Syed Asim Munir

Pakistani outgoing Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa will hand over the baton to his successor, General Syed Asim Munir on Tuesday, as his six-year tenure at the helm of the Pakistan Army comes to an end.

The Pakistan Army's change of command ceremony is currently underway at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, according to The Express Tribune.

The ceremony has also been invited to federal ministers, diplomats, dignitaries and journalists.

After much speculation, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appointed General Munir, the most senior ranking general after his predecessor, as the new army chief on 24 November.

General Munir is the 17th COAS to command the Pakistan Army since the country's independence in 1947.

According to The Express Tribune, the newly appointed military chief has worked at the country's two most powerful intelligence agencies, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Military Intelligence (MI).

General Sahir Shamshad Mirza took over as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee on Sunday (CJCSC).

General Mirza took over for General Nadeem Raza, assuming what is technically the military's most senior position but is considered ceremonial.

On Monday, General Bajwa had separate farewell meetings with the president and prime minister, both of whom expressed their best wishes to him.

Later, at the Prime Minister's House, the premier hosted a luncheon in honour of General Bajwa.

Shehbaz Sharif praised General Bajwa for his contributions to the Pakistan Army, national defence and national interests.

While bidding farewell, the premier noted that the army, led by Gen Qamar, had performed admirably in a number of crises, including the removal of Pakistan's name from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) grey list, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate-induced floods that inundated nearly half of the country, according to The Express Tribune.

Under General Bajwa's leadership, the armed forces crushed the threat of terrorism with valour and bravery, adding that the outgoing chief took command of the army during one of history's most difficult periods.