Lt Gen Azhar Abbas is the new Chief of General Staff of the Pakistan Army

An official statement said: Gen Abbas, who is from the Baloch Regiment, replaces Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza, who was posted out as commander of Rawalpindi-based 10 Corps — a post previously held by him, the Pakistan Army’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). 

Lt Gen Azhar Abbas, who was earlier ensuring security check of the Line of Control (LoC) with India, has now been appointed as the next Chief of General Staff, after the in-depth reshuffling of managerial positions. After the prestigious post of the army chief, this designation shares successive importance in the military ranks.

An official statement said: Gen Abbas, who is from the Baloch Regiment, replaces Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza, who was posted out as commander of Rawalpindi-based 10 Corps — a post previously held by him, the Pakistan Army’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). This statement was released on Tuesday.

The post of Chief of General Staff (CGS) is considered the most influential position within the army after that of the army chief. The CGS is assigned operational and intelligence matters at the General Headquarters with directorates of Military Operations and Military Intelligence falling under his purview, the Dawn reported.

Gen Abbas held the position of commandant of the Infa­n­try School, Quetta, and additionally was the personal secretary to the erstwhile army chief, Gen Raheel Sharif. He had also served as a commanding officer in Murree and was devoted as a brigadier in Operations. He belonged to the  Sindh Regiment.

As per a report published in The Express Tribune, “Gen Abbas was appointed the CGS in November 2019 but would now command a corps — something he has never done since he was promoted to the three-star rank in 2018.”

According to the ISPR statement, In other changes, Lt General Muhammad Chiragh Haider has been posted as the Commander of the Multan corps, which is one of the main strike Corps of the country, the ISPR statement said. He succeeded Lt General Muhammad Waseem Ashraf, who is now serving as the joint staff headquarters director-general.

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