Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Azhar Abbas. Photo courtesy ISPR
Reshuffle of military top brass sees outgoing Rawalpindi Corps Commander swapping positions with CGS
The Pakistan Army on Tuesday named Lt. Gen. Azhar Abbas as its next Chief of General Staff (CGS), swapping posts with Lt. Gen. Sahir Shamsad Mirza.
According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lt. Gen. Abbas would be the 35th CGS of the Pakistan Army. He has swapped posts with Lt. Gen. Mirza, who would assume command of the Rawalpindi-based 10 Corps that had previously been held by Abbas.
Analysts say the post of CGS is the most influential within the armed forces after that of the Chief of Army Staff. The CGS is assigned operational and intelligence matters at GHQ with the directorates of Military Operations and Military Intelligence falling under his domain.
Lt. Gen. Abbas is from the Baloch Regiment and has previously served as the commandant of the Infantry School, Quetta. He was also the personal secretary to then-Army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif and has commanded a division in Murree and worked in Operations Directorate as a brigadier.
Lt. Gen. Sahir Shamsad Mirza. Photo courtesy ISPR
Abbas’ replacement at the 10 Corps, Lt. Gen. Mirza, is from the Sindh Regiment. Prior to his tenure as CGS, he served as adjutant general. He has also previously served as Vice Chief of General Staff, Director General Military Operations and General Officer Commanding Dera Ismail Khan.
Lt. Gen. Waseem Ashraf. Photo courtesy ISPR
The ISPR said that Lt. Gen. Waseem Ashraf had also been transferred from command of the Corps-II Multan and Southern Command and posted as Director General of Joint Staff Headquarters.
Lt. Gen. Chiragh Haider. Photo courtesy ISPR
Outgoing DG Joint Staff Headquarters Lt. Gen. Chiragh Haider, is set to replace Gen. Ashraf at the Multan Corps. Both Lt. Gen. Ashraf and Lt. Gen. Haider belong to the Frontier Force Regiment.