By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: General Qamar Javed Bajwa reiterated that he will retire next month, ending speculation that the army chief will seek a third term.
Bajwa remarks came at a lunch hosted at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington.
General Bajwa, who is in the US, also reiterated his promise to leave office after completing his second three-year term in November, adding that he would fulfill the pledge he made earlier.
General Bajwa is set to retire in the last week of November after holding the top post for six years. He was initially appointed in 2016 but after three years tenure, the then government of Imran Khan in 2019 extended his service for another three years.
The military leader said the armed forces have distanced themselves from politics and will continue to do so.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the general elections will be held as per schedule in 2023, while the new army chief would be appointed next month in line with the law and the Constitution.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is poised to pick the new army chief ahead of the retirement of the incumbent General Qamar Javed Bajwa by the end of November.
Last month, former prime minister Khan said General Bajwa should be given another extension until the new government is elected, while reiterating calls for early elections.
The upcoming appointment is in the headlines for all wrong reasons. When Khan was in power, the opposition accused him of trying to bring an army chief of his choice who could support his alleged agenda of victimising opposition leaders.
Minister Asif said the appointment of the new army chief would take place in November, according to the law and the Constitution, while the general elections will be conducted on schedule after August 2023, when the current term of the National Assembly was to end.
“Imran Khan has not been in his right mind and is fearful as November is fast approaching,” the minister said.
“Any one of those general staff officers or someone not mentioned on the list can be appointed,” he said, adding that all three-star generals were eligible for the post of army chief.
Asif also targeted Khan for repeatedly criticising the armed forces for staying away from politics, after the former premier sarcastically addressed the military establishment as “neutrals”.
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