Khawaja Asif Warns Against Politicising Army Chief Appointment

Khawaja Asif Warns Against Politicising Army Chief Appointment
Federal Defence Minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif has warned politicians against turning the appointment of the next military chief into a political debate.

While addressing a press conference on Wednesday the federal minister denied that any work was being done regarding the chief of army staff appointment. He said, "I can assure you that, at the moment, there is no ongoing process regarding the appointment of the army chief."

The current COAS Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa is set to retire on November 29, as clarified by Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar. This means the new army chief will also be appointed in November.

Asif was holding a press conference addressing the government's decisions following the hate campaign against the army generated on social media following the military helicopter crash in Lasbela.

He said that 18 Indian Twitter accounts were involved in the anti-army smear campaign after the unfortunate crash, and that workers of a Pakistani political party actively participated in it.

"The law has come into action," Asif said, adding that in the coming days, 'more facts' will be unearthed.