Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday said that the process to appoint the army chief would be similar to what has been practised over the years.

“The process [for the army chief’s appointment] will start two to three weeks before [the incumbent’s retirement] as is traditionally done in the past,” he told reporters in London in a video aired by DawnNewsTV.

“I must say that the chief’s loyalty is with the country and he is not under any politician.” Secondly, he also has his loyalty to his institution, he added.

“He is the one who commands 700,000 officers who are ready to give their life on his call. His position and personality should not be made a part of any controversy — a political controversy”.

Also read: Who will be the next army chief?

Asif’s remarks come amid intensifying speculation on the future army chief, a process that has entered the political discourse of late due to ousted prime minister Imran Khan — who has claimed that the coalition goverment wants its “preferred” military chief to “escape graft cases”, a statement that drew flak from the military and government.

More recently, Khan has suggested deferring the chief’s appointment until after the elections, a move which is being seen by ministers as an attempt to mend fences with the military establishment.

The defence minister also told reporters in London that he would prefer Nawaz Sharif to come home immediately. However, he added that it should be ensured that the PML-N supremo should be granted justice for the injustices he faced back home, he added.

The minister said his government was not “running away” from elections. “We want polls to be held under the Constitution and the law.”

Asif said Imran Khan had been giving similar statements when he had just one seat in the parliament.

According to Article 243(3) of the Constitution, the president appoints the services chiefs on the recommendation of the prime minister.

Schedule V-A of the Rules of Business, which elaborates the cases to be presented to the prime minister for his approval, states that: “[…] the appointment of, and above the rank of, lieutenant-general in the army and equivalent ranks in the other Defence Services will be made by the prime minister in consultation with the president.”

However, Dawn earlier reported that the manner in which this process plays out is less clearly defined in the rule books. Nor have any specific criteria been laid down for consideration for elevation, except for the vague condition that the general chosen to lead the army should have commanded a corps.

The tradition is that General Headquarters (GHQ) sends a list of the four to five senior-most lieutenant-generals, along with their personnel files, to the Ministry of Defence, which then forwards them to the prime minister to pick the officer he finds best suited to the role.

Theoretically, the defence ministry can vet the names before presenting them to the prime minister, but that does not usually happen and the ministry acts merely as a post office.