General Asim Munir took over as the new chief of army staff (COAS) at a impressive ceremony here at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.
Outgoing COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa passed the baton of command to Gen Munir. Last week, Gen Asim Munir was appointed as next to Gen Bajwa by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Earlier, Gen Bajwa and Gen Munir laid a wreath at the Yadgar-i-Shuhada at GHQ and offered fateha.
The ceremony, kicked off with the GHQ military band performing national songs and a medley of folk tunes.
Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, senior serving and retired officers, diplomats, officials and a large number of media persons were attended the event .
Addressing the ceremony prior to handing over the baton of command to Gen Munir, the outgoing COAS said he was thankful for being given the opportunity to lead the Pakistan Army. He said in addition to being a Hafiz-i-Quran, Gen Asim is a professional, capable and principled officer”. He hoped that under his leadership the army will reach new heights of success.
Gen Bajwa congratulated Gen Munir on being appointed his successor and hoped his promotion would be a cause for the progress of the country and the army. He went on to say that his association with Gen Munir goes back 24 years. Ex Chief hoped the appointment of Gen Munir as COAS would prove to be positive for both the country and the army.
The army’s sacrifices were acknowledged by the country’s friends and foes, he said. “I am proud of my army that despite scarce resources, they defend the country’s boundaries from the ice-capped mountains of Siachen to the deserts of Thar” said Bajwa
He ending his speech with prayers for the success of the new COAS and Pakistan army.
