Outgoing CJCSC Gen Nadeem Raza calls on President Alvi, PM Shehbaz

• Gen Nadeem Raza serving as CJCSC since 2019.
• President, PM laud Gen Raza's services for Pakistan.
  
• Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza named as next CJCSC.
  

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Nadeem Raza Thursday paid a farewell call on President Dr Arif Alvi at the President's House.

As the CJCSC, it was General Raza’s last meeting with the president as the federal government has named Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

General Raza — a highly decorated officer — has been serving as the country’s 17th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee since November 2019.

Expressing his best wishes for the outgoing CJCSC, the president lauded his services for national defence. 

General Raza also called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at PM House. The premier paid tribute to the outgoing CJCSC for his services to Pakistan Army.

On February 8, 2022, General Raza was installed as the Second Colonel in Chief of the Sindh Regiment, while the Corps Commander Rawalpindi Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza was installed as the 13th Colonel Commandant of the Sindh Regiment in a ceremony held at Sindh Regiment Centre, Hyderabad.

Earlier, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that the appointment of the army chief and chairman joint chief chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee is a "test" for PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

“The advice has gone to President Alvi. Now it’s Imran Khan's test whether he wants to strengthen the institution of the country's defence or make it controversial,” Asif said in a tweet.

The president had earlier, according to sources, said that he would not create hurdles in the appointment of the new military officials, but the PTI chief has clearly stated that he would be consulted once the summary is received and that he would "play within the law".

Further in his tweet, Asif said: “This is also a test for President Alvi if he will follow political advice or constitutional and legal advice. As the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, it is his duty to protect the country from political conflicts."