Pakistan PM "deliberately staying out" to avoid issuing CDF notification, says security expert Tilak Devasher

Gurugram (Haryana) [India], November 30 (ANI): Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif intentionally avoided being present when the notification was due for Field Marshal Asim Munir's appointment as Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), said Former member of the National Security Advisory Board Tilak Devasher.

Speaking to ANI, Devasher highlighted that Sharif left for Bahrain and then London, leading to speculation that he's deliberately staying away to avoid issuing the notification.

This comes after the government failed to issue the required notification appointing Field Marshal Asim Munir as the country's first Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) by the November 29 deadline -- the day his original three-year term as Army Chief ended.

"Very smartly, Pakistan PM had gone to Bahrain and from there, he pushed off to London," Devasher told ANI. "He is deliberately staying out of this because he clearly doesn't want to issue the notification giving Asim Munir 5 years as Army chief and as Chief of Defence Forces. He thinks that by keeping away from Pakistan and not having to sign the notification, he can escape the consequences."

According to Devasher, the failure to notify has created a constitutional and operational gap. "All in all, this is a very messy state of affairs," he said. "If the fact remains that he (Asim Munir) is no longer the Army chief, then you have a situation where Pakistan doesn't have an Army chief and even the nuclear command authority, which was supposed to be under the new post of Strategic Forces Command, is also not there. So, it's an extremely strange situation that Pakistan is under at the moment."

Legal experts have been divided over the necessity of the notification. Under the amended Constitution, the Army Chief's term becomes coterminous with the CDF and lasts five years.

"There is a lot of debate and controversy on it because his tenure finished yesterday, and as per the amendment of the Constitution, there is now a Chief of Defence Forces, and the term of the Army chief will be coterminous with the CDF and runs for 5 years. But there has to be a notification," Devasher explained.

Yet some analysts argue the issue may already be settled by the 2024 amendment to the Pakistan Army Act, which extended the tenure of service chiefs to five years, according to Dawn.

The amendment includes a "deeming" clause stating it "shall always be deemed to have been part of the Pakistan Army Act," suggesting that Munir's current term could automatically extend from three to five years without additional paperwork, Dawn reported.

"Some people feel that the Army Act was also amended in 2004, under which the tenure of the Army chief was for 5 years. So, he has done 3 years and has another 2 years to go. So, they feel that no new notification is actually required," Devasher said. "This is controversial, and we don't know how the judiciary will look at it or how the government will look at it. But the fact of the matter is that this makes his position very tenuous."

He also pointed to political manoeuvring within the military. "At the same time, there are reports that there are other Generals who are now jostling for position to become Army chief or for the two new posts of 4 stars that have been created," he added.

Devasher believes the Prime Minister's avoidance is only deepening the uncertainty. "But this situation can't continue," he warned. "You can't have a nuclear-armed country without a Chief of the Army Staff or without somebody in charge of the nuclear command authority."

With the notification still unsigned and the government offering no public explanation, Pakistan now faces a leadership ambiguity at the top of its armed forces.

The situation raises concerns about Pakistan's stability, given its nuclear capabilities and regional geopolitical significance. The Chief of Defence Forces role was established under the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, aiming to centralize military command. (ANI)

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