Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) is going to retire in November 2016 and who will be the next Pak Army Chief is a question that is a hot debate now. Giving the satisfying answer of that question is difficult. Even the defense and political analyst are not sure to favourite any one to get the position of Pak Army Chief.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will make it sure that the next Army Chief should be trustworthy. It will be the fifth time that Nawaz Sharif will appoint Pak Army Chief. In the past, four Army Chiefs selected by PM Nawaz were General Asif Janjua (1991), General Waheed Kakar (1993), General Pervez Musharraf (1998) and General Raheel Sharif (2013).
Here is the seniority list of present Pak Army generals:
Name | Posting | Date of retirement |
| Lt Gen Maqsood Ahmed* | Military Adviser UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, New York | On extension |
| Lt Gen Najibullah Khan | DG Joint Staff Headquarters | Jan 2017 |
| Lt Gen Syed Wajid Hussain | Chairman Heavy Industries Taxila | Jan 2017 |
| Lt Gen Zubair Hayat | Chief of General Staff | Jan 2017 |
| Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa | Inspector General Training & Evaluation | Aug 2017 |
| Lt Gen Javed Iqbal Ramday | Commander XXXI Corps Bahawalpur | Aug 2017 |
| Lt Gen Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmed | Commander II Corps Multan | Aug 2017 |
*Since Lt Gen Maqsood is on the extension, he would not be considered.
Prime Minister office has to make the final decision and recommendations in this regard will carry many values for him. He will make it sure to claw back the influence of Pak Army Chief in Pakistan politics since 2013.
Future of Nawaz Sharif
“Nawaz has lost much ground to the military during Raheel’s tenure,” Talat Masood, a retired general and political analyst said. “He will try and retake certain space by asserting himself. I think he would like a change in leadership.”
Public Opinion on Raheel Sharif
“If Raheel Sharif hadn’t been chief, these militants and criminals would have destroyed Pakistan,” said Bismillah Khan, a bus driver in the southwestern city of Quetta. “I hope whoever replaces him will be just like him.”
