Race Heats Up to Lead Powerful Army Through Pakistan Tension

Kamran Haider
·4 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the chief of Pakistan’s army is set to retire on Nov. 29, paving the way for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to name a new commander to lead the influential military at a politically tense time for the South Asian country.

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The appointment -- expected by Friday -- has been at the heart of tensions between Sharif and former premier Imran Khan who was ousted in April in a no-confidence vote. Khan has said a new army chief should only be named after the country holds snap elections -- which he is confident of winning after sweeping several local polls.

Khan himself has publicly clashed with the military, which has ruled the country for about half of its history and retains outsized influence over elected governments. He has blamed Sharif for conspiring with the US to oust him while accusing the army of not doing enough to save his government. He has also alleged the prime minister, his interior minister and a senior general were behind a shooting attack at one of his rallies earlier this month that left him with leg injuries.

The former cricket star’s attempts to control military promotions when he was premier have been at the root of Pakistan’s current political tensions. Late last year, Khan publicly opposed Bajwa’s choice to lead the nation’s spy agency, voicing support for one of his own allies to stay in the role. The army chief got his way, but the incident sowed the seeds for Khan’s ouster in a parliamentary no-confidence vote roughly six months later.

“The Pakistan military will do everything to retain preeminence in power hierarchy,” said Ashok Behuria, senior fellow at New Delhi’s Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses. “The recent dissonance between the army and Imran Khan should not be read a clash between military and the civilian arm, but more as personal discord between Imran and the military.”

Here are the leading contenders for the job:

Lieutenant General Asim Munir

The general from the Frontier Force Regiment has led the nation’s elite spy agencies -- the Inter-Services Intelligence, that focuses on security and military intelligence. He has served under Bajwa’s direct command in the often-troubled northern areas that border Afghanistan, China and India.

Khan had removed Munir as ISI chief within eight months of his appointment and replaced him with an officer considered close to him. News reports suggest Munir’s appointment would be a setback for the former premier.

He is currently serving at the army headquarters as quartermaster general -- charged with overseeing supplies for all military units. Munir can only get the top job if Sharif picks him ahead of his retirement on Nov. 27. Army generals in Pakistan retire at 64. However, this isn’t applicable to the army chief.

Pakistan army’s media wing declined to share the ages for the top officers.

Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza

The three-star general is the senior-most serving officer in the army after Bajwa. As director general of military operations, he oversaw strikes against the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and other militant groups in the North Waziristan province, near the Afghan border.

Lieutenant General Faiz Hamid

The most talked-about army commander on the list is believed to be a Khan loyalist. He was in charge of the ISI when the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. He was photographed sipping tea at Kabul’s iconic Serena Hotel as the militant group’s top leaders debated who would helm the nation. The photograph was viewed as sign that the powerful spy agency had a key role to play in the process.

The Baloch Regiment officer has been seen as instrumental to Khan’s rise and later the reason why Khan went head to head with Bajwa.

Lieutenant General Azhar Abbas

Abbas currently holds the second most important position in the military -- chief of general staff, overseeing the military’s operational and intelligence business.

He has served in the 10th Corp that protects the Line of Control -- the de facto border that divides the Himalayan region of Kashmir with neighbor and arch-rival India.

Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood

The infantry officer has commanded forces in a deadly offensive against militants in Pakistan’s northwest and headed an ISI department that looks into foreign policy and related security issues. Mehmood is now serving as the president of the National Defense University, Pakistan’s top military education institution.

--With assistance from Sudhi Ranjan Sen.

(Updates with defense minister saying announcement likely by Friday)

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