COAS Bajwa pays farewell visit to PM, President Alvi

Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday paid a farewell visit to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Arif Alvi, reported Aaj News.

Ministers and senior government officials also bid their farewell to the outgoing chief.

On Tuesday, the COAS is set to retire with incoming army chief Lt Gen Asim Munir due to take his place.

President Arif Alvi approves Lt Gen Asim Munir's appointment as COAS

Last week, President Arif Alvi approved the nominations of Lt General Asim Munir as the new COAS and Lt General Sahir Shamshad Mirza's name for Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC).

The development came after PM Shehbaz decided to forward a summary to the president.

The high-profile appointments coincided with accusations by former prime minister Imran Khan, who blamed the army for playing a part in his ouster. The claims have been denied by the army that has reiterated its "apolitical" stance.

Lt Gen Asim Munir is the senior-most officer after Bajwa.

He joined the service via the Officers Training School (OTS) programme in Mangla and was commissioned into the 23rd Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment.

He commanded troops in the Force Command Northern Areas as a brigadier under COAS Bajwa, who was then Commander X Corps. He was appointed DG of the Military Intelligence in early 2017 and then briefly as ISI Director General in October 2018.