The Prime Minister will return to the country soon and the process has been started. No room for guesswork: Defense Minister
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif. PHOTO: APPLICATION/File
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif assured that the notification of appointment of the chief of defense forces would be issued soon, appealing to the public and media to refrain from what he termed “unnecessary and irresponsible speculation”.
In a post on X on Sunday, Asif said the notification process has already started and will be completed in due course, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to return to the country soon.
There is unnecessary and irresponsible speculation about CDF notification. Please note that the process has been initiated. PM is coming back soon. A notification will be issued in due course. No room for any guesswork. Period!
– Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) November 30, 2025
“There is unnecessary and irresponsible speculation about the CDF notification. Please be informed that the process has been initiated. The PM will return shortly. The notification will be issued in due course. No room for guesswork. Period!” he wrote.
The post of CDF was created under the 27th Constitutional Amendment, which also abolished the post of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee following the retirement of General Sahir Shamshad Mirza on November 27.
Parliament has approved the appointment of Field Marshal Asim Munir to the newly created post, although the official notification is yet to be issued.
The notification was initially expected on November 29, coinciding with the expiration of Field Marshal Munir’s initial three-year term as army chief, but the announcement did not materialize.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister, who was due to return on Saturday, extended his stay in the United Kingdom after medical examinations in London. He arrived a day early for a private visit and was received at Luton Airport by High Commissioner Dr Faisal and local PML-N leaders.
Sources said Shehbaz Sharif underwent medical tests and decided to extend his visit for another day. He was originally scheduled to complete his four-day private trip and return to Pakistan on Sunday, but will now depart from London for Islamabad on Monday afternoon.
