MIAN ABRAR
As part of the military tradition, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa has started building his own team of young and dynamic officers.
Following the elevation of seven major-generals to the rank of lieutenant-generals, the COAS on Saturday transferred and posted newly-elevated Lt-Gen Nadeem Raza as Commander, 10 Corps, while the incumbent 10 Corps Commander Lt-Gen Zafar Iqbal has been posted as Director-General of JS at JS Headquarters.
Lt-General Sarfraz Sattar has been posted as Commander II Corps, however, Commander II Corps Lt-Gen Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmed would be awaiting posting for the time being. Gen Sarfraz Sattar has previously served as Director-General of Military Intelligence (MI).
Keeping in view of his experience in intelligence, Sarfraz Sattar was being tipped as the next director general of Inter Services Intelligence (DG-I).
Gen Sarfar Sattar might have been given the prize posting of Multan Corps to enable him acquire sufficient command experience. When the COAS would retire after his three-year tenure, Gen Sarfraz Sattar would be the senior-most officer and could be the next army chief. This could be the reason for his new posting.
With the new Multan Corps Commander, if Lt-Gen Ishfaq Nadeem decides to continue after being superseded, he could be the best choice for Chief of General Staff (CGS) for the next eight or nine months.
This would be the best option as another likely choice for the CGS is Lt-Gen Amir Riaz, Commander, Southern Command, who is yet to complete his two-year command experience. Once Lt-Gen Ishfaq Nadeem retires, Gen Amir Riaz may take over as next CGS.
Meanwhile, with the posting of Lt-Gen Shahid Baig Mirza as Commander, V Corps, Karachi, Lt-Gen Naveed Mukhtar could be appointed as next DG-I. However, under the principle of first appointing the vacant postings, Gen Naveed could also be appointed Chief of Logistic Staff (CLS) which is vacant for the time being after transfer of Lt-Gen Ghayur Mehmood who has been recently posted as Military Secretary at the General Headquarters, Rawalpindi.
