Pakistan is currently experiencing a constitutional and operational uncertainty after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reportedly left the country, delaying the appointment of Field Marshal Asim Munir as the nation’s first Chief of Defence Forces (CDF). Munir’s three-year term as Army Chief ended on November 29, but the government has yet to issue the official notification confirming his five-year tenure under the new CDF framework.
Security expert Tilak Devasher said Sharif traveled to Bahrain and then London, “deliberately staying out” to avoid signing the notification. The delay has created a vacuum at the top of Pakistan’s military, including the nuclear command authority, which falls under the Strategic Forces Command linked to the new CDF post.
Legal experts are divided on whether a fresh notification is required, as a 2024 amendment to the Pakistan Army Act extended service chiefs’ tenure to five years. Some argue Munir’s term may automatically continue under a “deeming clause,” but uncertainty remains over its interpretation.
Meanwhile, reports suggest jockeying among other generals for senior military positions is intensifying. Analysts warn that prolonged absence of a confirmed Army Chief or CDF poses serious risks for command and control in a nuclear-armed country, deepening institutional ambiguity at the highest level.
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