General Nadeem Raza has assumed charge as Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee (CJCSC), an ISPR statement stated.

Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) tweeted on Wednesday, November 27.

General Nadeem Raza, HI (M) assumed appointment of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee at Joint Staff Headquarters today.

— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) November 27, 2019

For the post of the CJCSC, there were three contenders: Gen Nadeem, Lt Gen Sarfraz Sattar, the head of Strategic Plans Division (SPD), and Lt Gen Hamyun Aziz, the Karachi Corps Commander.

However, unlike many other countries, in Pakistan the army chief is the most powerful while the CJCSC acts for promoting better coordination among the three forces. The CJCSC also advises the government on the issues of national security and defence.

Raza had served as Core Commander Rawalpindi in 2016. He was discharging his duties as the Chief of General Staff since August 2018.

General Raza is a graduate of the Command and Staff College, Quetta and the National Defence University in Islamabad. He also attended a command course in Germany in 1994.

In the past the CJCSC was also picked from the navy and the air force but that practice has been discontinued long ago.

Gen Nadeem was corps commander Rawalpindi before being appointed as the Chief of General Staff at the GHQ, considered the most important position after the army chief, in August last year.

As CGS, who heads both intelligence and operational wings of the army, he worked closely with the army chief. He was commissioned in 1985 and is from infantry’s 10 Sindh Regiment. He is a graduate of Command and Staff College Quetta and the National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad.

He serves as the government’s top adviser on matters related to national defence and security. His job description also includes cross-service cooperation in all military processes.