RAWALPINDI: Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat took over as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) on Monday during an official ceremony at Joint Staff Headquarters, Rawalpindi.
Gen Hayat, who became the 17th CJCSC of Pakistan, was presented with a guard of honour at a ceremony attended by all chiefs of staff, including outgoing army chief Gen Raheel Sharif and Gen Qamar Javad Bajwa, who would replace the former as army chief. Officers from all three armed services were also present on the occasion.
The CJCSC has to be, in theory, appointed from the senior-most four-star officer from the Pakistan Armed Forces — army, navy and air force.
However, since the establishment of the National Command Authority (NCA), the army has staked a claim to its leadership, due to its hold on imperative areas of nuclear command and strategic assets. The CJCSC is also the designated deputy chairman of NCA’s deployment committee, which is headed by the prime minister.
Gen Zubair Hayat is from the artillery and is the serving Chief of General Staff (CGS). As a three-star general, he was previously posted as director general of the Strategic Plans Division (SPD), which is the secretariat of the NCA; and corps commander Bahawalpur. This makes him an ideal choice for the post of CJCSC, who has an almost exclusive jurisdiction over nuclear forces and its assets. His postings as CGS and DG SPD afforded him an opportunity to work very closely with PM Nawaz Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
