Pak army chief trashes speculation over extension

Pakistan's powerful army chief General Raheel Sharif today announced that he will retire as scheduled in November this year, dismissing as "baseless" reports that he may seek an extension due to the ongoing counter-terror offensive.
General Raheel, 59, will complete his three-year term in November and it was being speculated that like his predecessor Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, he may seek another term, especially as the counter-terrorism operation 'Zarb-e-Azb', started under his command in June 2014, is in a crucial phase.
Army spokesman Lt Gen Asim Bajwa tweeted quoting the army chief as saying that speculation about extension in service are "baseless".

"I don't believe in extension and will retire on the due date," General Raheel said, adding that "efforts to root out terrorism will continue with full vigour and resolve."
General Raheel, Pakistan's 15th Chief of Army Staff, further said that "Pakistan's national interest is supreme and will be safe guarded at all costs."
Earlier General Pervez Musharraf had also given extensions to himself from 2001 to 2008, when he was also serving as the country's President. Together with General Kayani, who got a three-year extension, the two shared the office of Chief of Army Staff between them for almost 16 years.

The operation 'Zarb-e-Azb' against militants has so far killed around 3,500 terrorists and has destroyed nearly 1,000 hideouts, according to the Pakistan Army.

Many commentators were supporting an extension for General Raheel citing the crucial stage the operation is going through.
Local media reports had claimed that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was also supportive of an extension to the Army Chief.
Democracy in Pakistan has had a chequered past as the last Pakistan Peoples Party-led government was the first one in the country's history to complete its full term of five years.
In the past, governments have been ousted by the army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its history.