Overview
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif forwarded the summary on Thursday and President Asif Ali Zardari approved it, installing Field Marshal Asim Munir as CDF while he continues as army chief for a five-year term starting from the notification.
- The government also granted a two-year extension to Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu, effective after his current tenure ends in March 2026.
- Officials, including the law minister and senior aides, had earlier dismissed talk of delays or civil–military rifts and said the CDF notification was in process.
- Under the reforms, the abolished CJCSC is being replaced by a National Strategic Command while the federal government sets detailed duties and rules for the CDF, including multi-domain integration across the services.
- Opposition figures and rights advocates warn the changes concentrate power in the military leadership and cite provisions reported to grant life-in-uniform status and immunity from arrest to the incumbent.