Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Kayani on Sunday said he has no intention of getting another extension and would retire on November 28.
According to an Inter Services Public Relations press release, the general dispelled rumours about him trying to occupy a new, powerful position.
Speaking at army field exercise, Azm-e-Nau 4 in the desert close to Hyderabad, General Kayani said, “For quite some time, my current responsibilities and likely future plans have been debated in the media with all sorts of rumours and speculations doing the rounds. The subject of being entrusted with new duties has also come up in several reports. I am grateful to the political leadership and the nation for reposing their trust in me and Pakistan Army at this important juncture of our national history. However, I share the general opinion that institutions and traditions are stronger than individuals and must take precedence.”
Sources privy to the development had said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was keen to induct Kayani as chairman of a new and powerful Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC).
An intelligence official said Nawaz planned to renew the JCSC into a “central defence body” by restoring its command over the military establishment and making it more powerful.
“The new JCSC chief will be in-charge of the nuclear arsenal. He will decide to take action against terrorists,” the official said. He also said the new chief would be empowered to promote and transfer senior officials.
A Wall Street Journal report citing military and civilian officials read that Kayani was prepared to “accept a revamped JCSC chairman job, currently a largely ceremonial post that would be given more authority, or to become defence adviser to the government”.
The report also quoted army officials saying that Kayani could also be made ambassador to the US.
