Nominator The Prime Minister | Appointer The President | |
Seat General Headquarters
Rawalpindi, Pakistan Term length 3 years,
renewable once Precursor Army Commander-in-Chief Formation March 3, 1972; 45 years ago (1972-03-03) | ||
The Chief of Army Staff (Urdu: سربراہ پاک فوج) (reporting name: COAS), is the four-star rank appointment in the Pakistan Army, held by the senior four-star ranking officer appointed and confirmed by the President of Pakistan, on a nomination approval summary sent by the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The Chief of Army Staff post has historically been vested with proportionately more powers because of the recurrent enforced military laws in the country. It is the highest and most prestigious four-star assignment, unless the four-star officer is appointed as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of the Pakistan Armed Forces– the highest-ranking officer who is senior to the Chiefs of Staff of Army, Air Force, Navy and respected chiefs of other military services.
The appointment is in principle for three years subject to extensions granted by The President of Pakistan on recommendation and approval from he Prime Minister of Pakistan. The appointment is vested with complete operational, training and logistics commands unlike the pattern followed in Western Commands where the Chief of Army Staff is the training and logistics chief while operational command rests with the Ministry of Defense. The current Chief of Army Staff is General Qamar Javed Bajwa The COAS operates from the Army GHQ in the vicinity of Rawalpindi District– the twin city of the capital Islamabad.
List of Army Vice Chiefs
The post of Vice Chiefs of Army Staff existed whenever the Chief of Army Staff was also the President of Pakistan. General Abdul Hamid held the designation of Chief of Staff while President Yahya Khan was C-in-C.