ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday sent a summary of the appointment of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir as Pakistan’s first Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) to President Asif Ali Zardari for approval.
According to a press release by the PM Office, the prime minister approved the summary and then referred it to the President’s House. Field Marshal’s appointment for both roles is for a period of five years, it said.
Moreover, the premier also approved a two-year extension in the tenure of the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu.
This extension will be effective upon completion of his current five-year term in March 2026, the press release stated.
The development came shortly after Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, while addressing a press conference, said that the notification for Chief of Defence Forces’ (CDF) appointment would be issued “at any moment”, stressing that it was already in process.
“It is in process, and at the moment, the notification or whatever necessary steps will be in front of you soon,” the minister told reporters in Islamabad.
The CDF position will replace the now-abolished office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) chairman following the 27th Constitutional Amendment, which formally ended on November 27. It would be a dual-hatted position combined with the office of the army chief.
