New army chief takes over 

Asem Mustafa Awan

General Syed Asim Munir has assumed command as the 17th Chief of Army Staff. In the change of command ceremony at General Headquarters, outgoing General Qamar Javed Bajwa handed over the command stick to the new Army Chief.

General Asim Munir is a graduate of Officers Training School Mangala. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General in October 2018. Apart from holding the posts of DG Military Intelligence, DG Inter Services Intelligence, General Asim Munir has held several important responsibilities including Corps Commander Gujranwala.

General Bajwa’s tenure as army chief saw great ups and downs in the region mainly due to presence of America and India in the neighbouring country Afghanistan. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor that added to internal political strife has its own dimensions.

General Raheel Sharif while giving the command stick to General Bajwa in his tenure shifted the pressure from eastern border to the western borders. In Afghanistan, the presence of Indian and American advisers in one way or the other run the puppet regime of Ashraf Ghani who ruled the country as President and it had its effects on Pakistan. American’s military might in the region and India’s designs to sabotage Pakistan through terrorist groups were major issues to be dealt with.

There was a constant trouble on Pakistan and Afghanistan’s borders, the then Pakistani military leadership hammered out a strategy to safeguard the country from the fallout of the US troops’ drawdown plan conceived by then US President Obama administration. The troop withdrawal; however happened after Obama left the office and President Trump took the reign. General Bajwa visited Afghanistan to make necessary arrangements in safeguarding Pakistan’s interest. Reestablishing contacts with the Afghan Taliban with commitment ‘let bygone be bygone’ in order to make new alliance for brining in stability in Afghanistan as well as in the region.

Securing the western border and CPEC project being the game changer in the region with China showing concern over the precarious security situation in Balochistan was handled by military establishment as political disharmony was a one of the main cause of concern. It would be an herculean task for the new army chief to keep the army at bay from politics as announced by Gen Bajwa during his farewell address.

The first test for General Syed Asim Munir is to keep the armed forces away from political affairs at all levels. The national front has its fair share of issues that need immediate attention. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is protesting and several PTI leaders are pointing at the military establishment for the party’s leaders’ arrests and custodial tortures.

It is catch 22 for the army chief if he tries to play a role of mediator among political parties he would be accused of political interference and if he doesn’t the situation could go from bad to worse.

At the current circumstances, the free, transparency and snap polls seems the only way out of the prevailing quagmire. Economic stability comes with political stability. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has recently announced to end its ceasefire agreement with Pakistan, which is alarming as it could create serious security issues in the country because they directed their commanders to carry out attacks across the country. Thus, the platter is full for the new chief and the oath he took when he donned the uniform is to safeguard Pakistan from both internal and external threats.

The writer is a journalist based in Islamabad and writes on a wide range of issues.