Islamabad, September 5, 2025: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Friday confirmed that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir will remain in office until November 2027 under the current legal framework.
Speaking to a private news channel, Sanaullah explained that following amendments to the law, service chiefs, including the army, air, and naval chiefs, are no longer required to receive fresh notifications regarding their tenure.
“On the day the air chief completes his five-year term, he will automatically retire. The same principle applies to the army chief,” he clarified.
Defending the continuation of Asim Munir’s tenure, Sanaullah said the military successes achieved under his leadership made him “the most deserving of this extension.” He noted that Pakistan has a long history of service chiefs receiving extensions.
“The law provides for extensions, and in the past, some individuals even granted themselves repeated extensions,” he remarked.
The adviser stressed that continuity in military leadership was crucial in light of Pakistan’s security environment and regional challenges.
Rana Sanaullah further asserted that all key decisions of the government are taken with the approval of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, and expressed confidence that the current National Assembly would complete its tenure until 2029.
He dismissed the political strategy of PTI founder Imran Khan as “unrealistic,” saying:
“If he wants to do politics, whether from jail or outside, the government is open to talks.”
The former interior minister reiterated that the May 9 incidents could not be described as political protests.
“They were an attempt at civil war, not political agitation,” Sanaullah maintained, accusing the PTI founder of seeking instability while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was striving for national stability.
On economic challenges, Sanaullah ruled out discussions on creating new provinces but confirmed that changes to the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award were under consideration. He said the federation was under severe fiscal pressure while provinces had greater capacity, adding that the government would seek consensus to address these imbalances.
