Newly appointed army chief Lieutenant General Asim Munir and chairman joint chiefs of staff committee Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza held separate meetings with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and President Arif Alvi.

According to the sources, during the meetings, the premier congratulated the two officers on their appointment and expressed good wishes to them. The premier hoped that under their leadership the armed forces will continue to play important role in the elimination of the menace of terrorism from the country.

Earlier, General Asim Munir and General Sahir Shamshad Mirza met President Dr. Arif Alvi at the President’s House.

The meetings were held minutes after President Alvi approved the prime minister’s summary regarding the key appointments.

There were speculations that PTI Chief Imran Khan might try to throw a spanner in the appointment of the army chief. However, experts believed that the President could only delay the appointment but could not reject it.

President Alvi met Imran Khan at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore over the appointments of the top military brass, after the Prime Minister’s Office sent the summary of two top generals to the President’s House.

Returning to Lahore after consulting Imran Khan the president granted his assent to the summary sent by the prime minister, ending speculations surrounding this key development.