Shehbaz Sharif (left), Asim Munir (ANI)
Author and National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) member Tilak Devasher claimed that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is “intentionally” staying out of the country to avoid being present when the notification would be issued for the appointment of the first-ever Chief of Defence Forces (CDF). He seems to believe that by staying away and avoiding signing the notification, he can escape the consequences,” said Devasher, author of four books on Pakistan. “Very smartly, the Pakistan PM went to Bahrain and then to London. He clearly does not want to issue the notification giving Asim Munir five years as army chief and as Chief of Defence Forces.
The comment comes after Sharif’s government failed to issue the required notification appointing Munir as the first-ever CDF by the November 29 deadline—the day his original three-year term as army chief ended. Some analysts, however, argue that the issue may already be addressed by the Pakistan Army Act’s 2024 amendment, which extended the tenure of service chiefs to five years, according to Dawn. “Some people argue that the Army Act was amended in 2004, setting the army chief’s tenure at five years.
The amendment includes a “deeming” clause stating it “shall always be deemed to have been part of the Pakistan Army Act,” implying that Munir’s current term could automatically extend from three to five years without any additional notification. But the fact remains that it makes his position very tenuous,” Devasher said. “But this situation cannot continue,” he warned. “A nuclear-armed country cannot function without a Chief of the Army Staff or someone in charge of the nuclear command authority.”
Since he has already served three, he supposedly has another two years remaining. From this perspective, no new notification would be required. This is controversial, and it’s unclear how the judiciary or the government will view it. Devasher added that Prime Minister Sharif’s absence is only deepening the uncertainty.