Islamabad

Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday said he would not be seeking another extension in his tenure, which ends on November 29.

Gen Bajwa asserted that the army had decided to distance itself from the country's politics.

He made these remarks while addressing a security workshop in Islamabad. According to journalists who attended the workshop, the army chief said the military had decided to remain "apolitical."

Gen Bajwa's statement comes on the same day the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified former premier and PTI Chairman Imran Khan from being a member of parliament, finding him guilty of mis-declaration in the Toshakhana reference.

This is not the first time Gen Bajwa has addressed the matter of his extension and the army's intent to distance itself from politics.

Earlier this month during a visit to the US, he had confirmed he would not be seeking another extension to his tenure while speaking at a lunch at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington.

Earlier in April, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Babar Iftikhar had also made it clear that Gen Bajwa was neither seeking an extension nor would he accept it.

The next army chief's appointment is also at times mentioned as one of the major sub-plots in the ongoing political crisis engulfing the country which began earlier this year following the tabling of a no-trust motion against then premier Imran Khan.

In the months after his ouster, Imran has openly criticised the army leadership during his political rallies for meddling in the country's politics and called on them to remain "neutral."

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However, the army had expressed its displeasure over the PTI chief's remarks in September, saying that it was "aghast at the defamatory and uncalled for" statements about its senior leadership.