General Sahir to be last CJCSC

ISLAMABAD: General Sahir Shamshad Mirza will be the 18th and final Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) of the Armed Forces, as he is set to attain superannuation on November 27, 2025. Following the adoption and enforcement of the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, no CJCSC will be designated after him.

Interestingly, seven Chairmen were either appointed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif or served under his leadership. Sources told The News here on Saturday that General Mirza will complete three years in the rank, while the late General Iqbal Khan remains the longest-serving CJCSC, holding the position for three years and 344 days. Retired General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani held the office for the shortest duration—only fifty days—when he served in an acting capacity. General Sahir Shamshad Mirza was appointed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The Chairmen who were appointed by or served under former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif include General Shamim Alam, General Jehangir Karamat, General Pervez Musharraf, General Khalid Shamim Wynne, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, General Rashad Mahmood, and General Zubair Mahmood Hayat. The first CJCSC was General Muhammad Sharif, appointed by then Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on March 1, 1976. Admiral Muhammad Sharif and Admiral Iftikhar Ahmad Sarohi were from the Navy, while Air Chief Marshal Farooq Feroz Khan was the only officer from the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) to have held the post.

Former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto appointed General Muhammad Sharif and Admiral Muhammad Sharif; former President General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq appointed General Iqbal Khan; former Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo appointed General Rahimuddin Khan and General Akhtar Abdul Rehman; while the late Benazir Bhutto appointed Admiral Iftikhar Ahmad Sarohi and Air Chief Marshal Farooq Feroz Khan.

General Shamim Alam, General Jehangir Karamat, General Pervez Musharraf, General Khalid Shamim Wynne, General Rashad Mahmood, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, and General Zubair Mahmood Hayat were either appointed by or served under former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali appointed General Aziz Khan, Shaukat Aziz appointed General Ehsanul Haq, General Tariq Majeed was designated by Muhammadmian Soomro, and General Nadeem Raza served under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.