The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) is a position in the

Pakistani Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

held by a four-star

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

. As the highest-ranking officer, it is the most powerful position in the army. This is the senior most appointment in the army who is a member of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), (); is an administrative body of senior high-ranking uniformed military leaders of the unified Pakistan Armed Forces who advises the civilian government of Pakistan, National Security Council, Defen ...

in a separate capacity, usually consulting with the Chairman joint chiefs to act as a

military adviser Military advisors or combat advisors are military personnel deployed to advise on military matters. The term is often used for soldiers sent to foreign countries to aid such countries' militaries with their military education and training, organi ...

to the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and its

civilian government Civil authority or civil government is the practical implementation of a state on behalf of its citizens, other than through military units (martial law), that enforces law and order and that is distinguished from religious authority (for exampl ...

in the line of defending the

land borders Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

of the country. The Chief of the Army Staff exercises responsibility of command and control of the operational, combatant, logistics, and training commands within the army. The appointment, in principle, is constitutionally subjected to be for 3 years after the approval by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

on the recommendations of the Prime Minister. The Chief of the Army Staff is based in the GHQ, and the current Chief is

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah, serving in this capacity since 29 November 2022.

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 The Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army (abbreviation: C-in-C of the Pakistan Army) was the professional head of the Pakistan Army from 1947 to 1972. As an administrative position, the appointment holder had main operational command autho ...

in 1972. Since 1972, there have been 10 four-star rank army generals to be appointed as chief of army staff by statute. The

approved the nomination and appointment of the Chief of Army Staff, with

confirming the Prime Minister's appointed choosing and nomination. 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 A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

(MoD). The Chief of Army Staff exercises the responsibility of complete operational, training and logistics commands. 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

References

External links

Official Pakistan Army websiteInter-Services Public Relations
{{Chief of the army by country *C

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Office of the Chief of the Army Staff

List of Chiefs of the Army Staff

See also

References

External links