Tag: Prime Minister Office

  • Bye bye Bajwa: PM gets names of next army chief nomination, decision awaited

    Bye bye Bajwa: PM gets names of next army chief nomination, decision awaited

    The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has confirmed on Wednesday that it has finally received the summary from the Ministry of Defence with a list of names of the candidates for the appointment of the new chief of army staff (COAS) and the chairman joint chief of staff committee (CJCSC).

    “Prime Minister [Shehbaz Sharif] will take a decision on the appointments as per the laid down procedure,” the brief statement read.

    Military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a statement confirming the development late last night.

    “GHQ has forwarded the summary for selection of CJCSC and COAS, containing names of 6 senior most Lt Gens, to MoD,” said the ISPR in its tweet.

    It is believed that the six men currently in the running to be the next chief of army staff are (in order of seniority) Lt Gen Asim Munir (currently Quarter Master General), Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza (Commander 10 Corps), Lt Gen Azhar Abbas (Chief of General Staff), Lt Gen Nauman Mehmood (NDU Presi­dent), Lt Gen Faiz Hamid (Commander Baha­walpur Corps), and Lt Gen Mohammad Aamer (Com­mander Gujranwala Corps).

    Khawaja Asif, Minister for Defence, said Monday that the notification for the appointment of the next chief of army staff (COAS) would be issued by November 26 before the end of the tenure of the outgoing chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa – who retires on November 29.

    The summary itself and the delay in its dispatch from GHQ has been the subject of much speculation as General Bajwa’s retirement date looms near.

  • ‘Our state institutions have carried out an exercise to secure PMO’: Tarar

    ‘Our state institutions have carried out an exercise to secure PMO’: Tarar

    Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar has said that state institutions have taken steps to secure the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and changed some standard operating procedures (SOPs).

    “Our state institutions have carried out an exercise to secure the PMO and ensure [security],” he stated.

    “Some SOPs have been changed which I think is a government responsibility as oftentimes many sensitive matters are discussed in such places and there should be an environment where you are 100 per cent satisfied that you’re making national decisions in a secure environment,” he told reporters.

    He explained that basic SOPs were already in place for “sensitive buildings”, adding that further orders have been issued to make security measures effective and
    “It will be an effort to introduce a culture and environment, not just in the PMO, but in all departments where you can ensure that sensitive information will not be leaked.”

    These steps were taken after several audio leaks surfaced of PM Shehbaz and former PM Imran Khan.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry said that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa had informed Imran Khan multiple times that the PM House is unsafe for important conversations.

    “The army chief told Imran Khan that the points that what we discuss here is recorded and leaked later on,” he said, adding that, “General Bajwa had said Nawaz Sharif stepped out of PM House when he wanted to talk to him about some vital issue.”

    The PTI leader said that it is unacceptable for PM Office to be hacked, regardless of who is premier — whether Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif or Imran Khan.

  • Rare meeting: Army Chief meets both President Alvi and PM Khan on same day

    Rare meeting: Army Chief meets both President Alvi and PM Khan on same day

     Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Bajwa on Monday met President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    It is rare for an army chief to meet both heads of the state and the government on the same day. The Prime Minister Office (PMO) in a statement said, “Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa called on Prime Minister Imran Khan today. Professional matters pertaining to Pakistan Army were discussed during the meeting”.

    The presidency, speaking about the meeting between COAS and the president, said, “During the meeting, the president was briefed about the professional preparedness and measure being taken by the security forces against the terrorist elements.”