Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan)
The Chief of Army Staff (Urdu: سالارِ افواجِ برّیِ پاکستان, romanized: Salar afwaj barri pakistan) (reporting name: COAS), is the most senior officer in the Pakistan Army.[2] It is one of the most powerful positions in Pakistan.[3]
| Chief of the Army Staff | |
|---|---|
| سالارِ افواجِ پاکستان | |
Flag of the Chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan | |
| Ministry of Defence Army Secretariat-I at MoD[1] | |
| Abbreviation | COAS |
| Member of | Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee National Security Council |
| Reports to | Prime Minister Minister of Defence |
| Seat | General Headquarters (GHQ) Rawalpindi Cantonment, Punjab |
| Appointer | Prime Minister of Pakistan |
| Term length | 3 years |
| Precursor | Commander-in-Chief of the Army |
| Formation | 3 March 1972 |
| First holder | General Tikka Khan |
| Succession | On basis of seniority, subjected to the decision of the Prime Minister of Pakistan. |
| Unofficial names | Army Chief |
| Deputy | Vice Chief of Army Staff (abolished) Chief of General Staff |
| Salary | According to Pakistan Military officer's Pay Grade (apex Scale) |
| Website | Official website |
This is the senior most appointment in the Pakistan Armed Forces who is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee in a separate capacity, usually consulting with the Chairman joint chiefs to act as a military adviser to the Prime Minister and its civilian government in the line of defending the land borders of the country.[4] The Chief of Army Staff exercise its responsibility of command and control of the operational, combatant, logistics, and training commands within the army, in contrast to the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army.[4] Due to its stature, the Chief of Army Staff have been instrumental in enforcing martial laws against the civilian government due to the meltdown of a civil-military relations in the past decades.[5][6]: 168
The appointment, in principle, is constitutionally subjected to be for three years but an extension may be granted from the approval and recommendations of the Prime Minister by the President.[7] The Chief of Army Staff is based in the Army GHQ, and the current Chief of Army Staff is General Asim Munir Ahmed, serving in this capacity since 29 November 2022.[8][9]
Office of the Chief of the Army Staff
The designation of the Chief of the Army Staff was created from the previous title Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army in 1972. Since 1972, there has been 10 four-star rank army generals to be appointed as chief of army staff by statute.[10] The Prime Minister approved the nomination and appointment of the Chief of Army Staff, with President confirming the Prime Minister's appointed choosing and nomination.[11]
The army leadership is based in the Army GHQ whose functions are supervised by the Chief of Army Staff, assisted by the civilians from the Army Secretariat of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).[1] The Chief of Army Staff exercise its responsibility of complete operational, training and logistics commands.: 131 [6][self-published source?]
There are several principle staff officers (PSO) who assist in running the operations of the Army GHQ:
- Engineer-in-Chief (Eng-in-C)
- Chief of General Staff
- Chief of Logistics Staff
- Inspector-General of Training and Evaluation (IGT&E)
- Inspector-General Communications and IT (IGC&IT)
- Inspector-General Arms (IG Arms)
- Military Secretary (Mil Secy)
- Adjutant-General
- Quartermaster General (QMG)
- Master-General of Ordnance (MGO)
- Judge Advocate General Corps
- Director-General EME (DGEME)
- Director-General Frontier Works Organisation (DGFWO)
- DG Combat Development Directorate
List of Chiefs of Army Staffs
| No. | Portrait | Chief of Army Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Unit of Commission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Tikka Khan HJ, HQA, SPk (1915–2002) | 3 March 1972 | 1 March 1976 | 3 years, 364 days | 2 Fd Regt Arty | |
| 2 | General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (1924–1988) | 1 March 1976 | 17 August 1988 | 12 years, 169 days | 22 Cavalry | |
| 3 | General Mirza Aslam Beg NI(M), SBt (born 1931) | 17 August 1988 | 16 August 1991 | 2 years, 364 days | 16 Baloch | |
| 4 | General Asif Nawaz Janjua NI(M), SBt (1937–1993) | 16 August 1991 | 8 January 1993 † | 1 year, 145 days | 5 Punjab | |
| 5 | General Abdul Waheed Kakar NI(M), SBt (born 1937) | 11 January 1993 | 12 January 1996 | 3 years, 1 day | 5 FF | |
| 6 | General Jehangir Karamat NI(M), TBt (born 1941) | 12 January 1996 | 6 October 1998 | 2 years, 267 days | 13 Lancers | |
| 7 | General Pervez Musharraf NI(M), TBt (born 1943) | 6 October 1998 | 29 November 2007 | 9 years, 53 days | 16 (SP) Medium Regt Arty | |
| 8 | General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani NI(M), HI(C) (born 1952) | 29 November 2007 | 29 November 2013 | 6 years, 0 days | 5 Baloch | |
| 9 | General Raheel Sharif NI(M), HI(M) (born 1956) | 29 November 2013 | 29 November 2016 | 3 years, 0 days | 6 FF | |
| 10 | General Qamar Javed Bajwa NI(M), HI(M) (born 1960) | 29 November 2016 | 29 November 2022 | 6 years, 0 days | 16 Baloch | |
| 11 | General Asim Munir NI(M), HI(M) (born 1968) | 29 November 2022 | Incumbent | 49 days | 23 FF |
See also
References
- ^ a b MoD, Ministry of Defence. "Organogram of MoD" (PDF). mod.gov.pk/. Ministry of Defence Press. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- ^ . The News. 27 November 2013. Archived from the original on 1 December 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
- ^ "Pakistan Extends Term For Powerful Army Chief". RFE/RL. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- ^ a b Shabbir, Usman (2003). . pakdef.org. PakDef Military Consortium. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ^ "New Pakistan army chief takes command". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
- ^ a b Inc, IBP (2009). Pakistan Intelligence, Security Activities and Operations Handbook - Strategic Information and Developments. Lulu.com. p. 230. ISBN 9781438737225. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
{{cite book}}:|last1=has generic name (help)[self-published source] - ^ "Will retire on November 29, Kayani confirms". The Express Tribune. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
- ^ Dawn.com (29 November 2022). "Gen Bajwa to hand over command to Gen Munir today". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ^ "Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa to hand over command to Gen Asim Munir shortly". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ^ "The Army Chief's". www.pakistanarmy.gov.pk. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
- ^ Zahra-Malik, Drazen Jorgic and Mehreen (26 November 2016). "Pakistan PM Sharif names General Bajwa as new army chief". Reuters UK. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
External links
- Official Pakistan Army website
- Inter-Services Public Relations