Chief of the Army Staff (Pakistan)

The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) is a position in the Pakistani Army typically held by a four-star general.^[2] As the highest-ranking officer, it is the most powerful position in the army.^[3][4] Due to the influence of the military in Pakistan, the position is seen as the most powerful office in the country.^[5][6][7]

Chief of Army Staff
Flag of the Chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan
Incumbent Field Marshal Asim Munir since 29 November 2022
Ministry of Defence Army Secretariat-I at MoD[1]
Abbreviation	COAS
Member of	Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee National Security Council Special Investment Facilitation Council
Seat	General Headquarters (GHQ) Rawalpindi Cantonment, Punjab
Appointer	The president on advice of the prime minister
Term length	5 years, renewable irrespective of age
Constituting instrument	Article
Precursor	Commander-in-Chief of the Army
Formation	3 March 1972; 53 years ago (1972-03-03)
First holder	General Tikka Khan
Succession	On basis of seniority, subjected to the decision of armed forces itself
Unofficial names	Army Chief
Deputy	Vice Chief of the Army Staff (Vacant) Chief of the General Staff
Salary	According to Pakistan Military officer's Pay Grade (apex Scale)
Website	Official website

This is the senior most appointment in the army who is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee in a separate capacity, usually consulting with the Chairman joint chiefs to act as a military adviser to the Prime Minister and its civilian government in the line of defending the land borders of the country.^[8] The Chief of the Army Staff exercises responsibility of command and control of the operational, combatant, logistics, and training commands within the army.^[8]

The appointment, in principle, is constitutionally subjected to be for 3 years after the approval by the President on the recommendations of the Prime Minister.^[9] The Chief of the Army Staff is based in the GHQ, and the current Chief is General Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah, serving in this capacity since 29 November 2022.^[10][11]

Office of the Chief of the Army Staff

The designation of the Chief of the Army Staff was created from the previous title Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army in 1972.^{[citation needed]} The Prime Minister approves the nomination and appointment of the Chief of Army Staff, with President confirming the Prime Minister's appointed choosing and nomination.^[12]

The army leadership is based in the GHQ whose functions are supervised by the Chief of Army Staff, assisted by the civilians from the Army Secretariat of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).^[1] The Chief of Army Staff exercises the responsibility of complete operational, training and logistics commands.^{: 131 [13][self-published source?]}

Typically, the Chief of Army Staff is a four-star full general. However, two Chiefs of Army Staff— Ayub Khan and Asim Munir— were promoted to the five-star field marshal rank.^[2]

There are several principle staff officers (PSO) who assist in running the operations of the Army GHQ:

• Chief of General Staff
• Chief of Logistics Staff
• Inspector-General of Training and Evaluation (IGT&E)
• Inspector-General Communications and IT (IGC&IT)
• Inspector-General Arms (IG Arms)
• Engineer in Chief (E-in-C)
• Military Secretary (Mil Secy)
• Adjutant-General
• Quartermaster General (QMG)

List of Chiefs of the Army Staff

For the army heads from 1947 to 1972, see Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army.

See also: Vice Chief of the Army Staff (Pakistan) and Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Pakistan)

No.	Portrait	Chief of Army Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Unit of Commission
01		Khan, TikkaGeneral Tikka Khan HJ, HQA, SPk (1915–2002)	3 March 1972	1 March 1976	3 years, 364 days	2 Fd Regt Arty
02		Zia-ul-Haq, MuhammadGeneral Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (1924–1988)	1 March 1976	17 August 1988	12 years, 169 days	13 Lancers
03		Beg, MirzaGeneral Mirza Aslam Beg NI(M), SBt (born 15 February 1928)	17 August 1988	16 August 1991	2 years, 364 days	16 Baloch
04		Janjua, AsifGeneral Asif Nawaz Janjua NI(M), SBt (1937–1993)	16 August 1991	8 January 1993 †	1 year, 145 days	5 Punjab
05		Kakar, AbdulGeneral Abdul Waheed Kakar NI(M), SBt (born 1937)	11 January 1993	12 January 1996	3 years, 1 day	5 FF / 27 AK
06		Karamat, JehangirGeneral Jehangir Karamat NI(M), TBt (born 1941)	12 January 1996	6 October 1998	2 years, 267 days	13 Lancers
07		Musharraf, PervezGeneral Pervez Musharraf NI(M), TBt (1943–2023)	6 October 1998	29 November 2007	9 years, 53 days	16 (SP) Medium Regt Arty
08		Kayani, Ashfaq ParvezGeneral Ashfaq Pervez Kayani NI(M), HI(C) (born 1952)	29 November 2007	29 November 2013	6 years	5 Baloch
09		Sharif, RaheelGeneral Raheel Sharif NI(M), HI(M) (born 1956)	29 November 2013	29 November 2016	3 years	6 FF
10		Bajwa, QamarGeneral Qamar Javed Bajwa NI(M), HI(M) (born 1960)	29 November 2016	29 November 2022	6 years	16 Baloch
11		Munir, AsimField Marshal Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah NI(M), HI(M) (born 1968)	29 November 2022	Incumbent	2 years, 215 days	23 FF

See also

• Malacca Cane
• Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
• List of serving generals of the Pakistan Army
• Chief of the Air Staff (Pakistan)
• Chief of the Naval Staff (Pakistan)
• Chief of the General Staff (Pakistan)
• Military dictatorship in Pakistan