Pakistani prime minister names new army chief

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has named General Raheel Sharif as the nuclear-armed country’s new army chief.

After weeks of speculation in the local media, Sharif finally made the selection of 57-year-old infantry officer as the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army (COAS), who will take up the new post on Friday.

“On the advice of the Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and in pursuance of Article 243/4(a) and 243/4(b) of the Constitution of Pakistan, President of Pakistan and the Supreme Commander of Armed Forces, Mamnoon Hussain has been pleased to promote and appoint Gen. Rashid Mehmood as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Gen. Raheel Sharif as Chief of the Army Staff,” said a statement from the prime minister’s office.

Sharif, who is not related to the prime minister, is replacing General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who is stepping down on Thursday after completing his second three-year term.

The appointment comes as Pakistan faces an array of challenges, including its uneasy relations with India, the fight against Taliban militants in the northwestern region of the country and the unrelenting US assassination drone strikes in the tribal areas.

Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since October 2001, when Pakistan joined an alliance with the United States in the so-called war on terror.