RAWALPINDI: General Asim Munir will assume charge as the new Chief of Army Staff (COAS) today amid challenges. The change of command ceremony of the Pakistan Army will be held today in which outgoing COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa will hand over the ‘baton of command’ to General Asim Munir.
The change of command ceremony will be participated by the former military leadership at the General Headquarters (GHQ).
Gen Munir becomes the first army chief who headed both – the Military Intelligence (MI) and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), whereas, he will also be the first army chief awarded the Sword of Honour.
After assuming charge as the new COAS, Gen Munir will face a series of challenges.
A day ahead of the Pakistan Army’s change of command ceremony, the banned outfit Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) announced to end ceasefire with the Pakistani forces and ordered its militants to carry out attacks across the country.
COAS General Asim Munir will be facing a challenge to stop the new wave of terrorism in the shape of TTP attacks on security forces, planning and infiltration of terrorists being headed from Afghanistan.
The second challenge would be dealing with the threatening tone of Indian army officers who threatened to be waiting for the government orders to occupy the Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The third challenge would be helping out the civilian government to cope with the economic crisis by seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and ally countries like Saudi Arabia, US and China.
The fourth challenge will be streamlining the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to head towards the conclusive phase of the multi-billion economic project. The Pakistan Army’s role will be crucial to expedite the CPEC projects.
Moreover, it will also be a challenge for the new COAS General Asim Munir to keep Pakistan Army apolitical as per outgoing General Bajwa’s announcement that the armed forces will stay away from politics. General Munir’s role will be crucial in the coming days in how the Pakistan Army gains the confidence of political parties for remaining apolitical.
After Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan’s call for early elections, Gen Munir’s role will also be witnessed in dealing with the situation.