Journalist Asad Toor said on Tuesday that the governing coalition and the establishment were not on the same page pertaining to the appointment of the next chief of army staff (COAS).
Toor made the comments in eponymous show Asad Toor Uncensored. The journalist said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had rushed to the UK due to this too. The establishment, he said, was not too happy about what he claimed was Shehbaz’s decision to name Lieutenant General Asim Munir army chief. The government, he said, had been told with great tact to choose between two candidates after (on the seniority list).
While the PM was empowered to nominate six from which an army chief and chairman joint chief of staff was appointed, space to maneuver was being further constrained by fueling feelers against others. This ranged from being overtly religious to carrying political baggage.
The government, he said citing sources, had been warned that it will have to face the music if it failed to adhere with the directives of an institution. Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, Toor said, had refused to budge. Having had expended his political capital, Toor said, Nawaz had nothing left to lose.
The journalist said another source had claimed that the government was receptive to the demand but had asked for a guarantee on how the incoming army chief would not meddle in governmental affairs.
Nawaz, Toor said, reportedly had also presented a third option on how none of the six senior-most will be considered for the top post given the reservations and attempt to undermine the prime minister’s authority. The selection then, Nawaz is claimed to have said, can be made from the following six senior-most.
