Pakistan's plan to appoint a recently retired army general as its new national security adviser hints at another step forward in the military's efforts to control the Government of Pakistan.
According to TIME, Lieutenant General Naseer Khan Janjua will accompany Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on his visit to the US, officials said.
A senior minister in Sharif's cabinet said that Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff Raheel Sharif has been pushing for the appointment of Janjua as the new NSA since months, but Sharif preferred Aziz.
The army chief felt that Aziz had too much on his plate as he also held the portfolio for Foreign Affairs.
Janjua, in his new role, will oversee security affairs including negotiations with India.
In August this year, scheduled NSA-level talks between India and Pakistan were called off at the last minute over a disagreement on the agenda.
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If India and Pakistan plan to hold NSA-level talks after Janjua's appointment, it will be the first time that Indian NSA Ajit Doval would directly talk to the Pakistani army.
Earlier, Janjua was the president of the National Defense University and has also worked on military preparedness exercise 'Azm-e-Nau', which focuses mainly on India.
Azm-e-Nau was a response to 'Cold Start Doctrine', which Pakistan claims was developed by Indian Military for use in a possible war with Pakistan.
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