ISLAMABAD     -       Following the appointment of Lt-Gen As Munimir as the new chief of the Pakistan Army, Corps Commander Bahawalpur Lt Gen Faiz Hamid has opted for early retirement due to personal reasons. Sources confirmed that Corps Commander Bahawalpur Lt Gen Faiz Hamid who was among the officers whose names were in the list for the appointment of Chairman Joint chiefs of the staff committee and army chief, have opted for early retirement and have communicated to GHQ. Lt. Gen Faiz Hameed who once headed Pakistan’s most powerful intelligence service Inter-Services Intelligence was hopeful of becoming army chief in the previous government but could not make it. Lt Gen Faiz Hamid is the second three-star officer who has opted for early retirement within the last two days following Lt-Gen Azhar Abbas who was serving as Chief of the General Staff at GHQ, the second most important position after Chief of the Army Staff. Lt. Gen Azhar Abbas name was also among six senior most officers in the summary which was considered by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the position of CJCSC and COAS. Lt-Gen Azhar Abbas was considered a member of the core team of outgoing army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Both General Officers Azhar Abbas and Gen Faiz Hamid were supposed to retire in April 2023. The U.S. Mission to Pakistan congratulated new Chief of Army Staff designate Lt Gen Asim Munir and new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee designate Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza. “We are committed to working with Pakistan’s elected leaders, its military leadership, and a diverse range of civil society partners to advance shared interests in trade & investment, health security, climate change, inclusive governance & regional security”, the US embassy said in a message posted on twitter. The Chinese embassy in Pakistan has also extended greetings to new COAS General Asim Munir and new CJCSC General Sahir Shamshad Mirza. “We also highly appreciate the contribution General Qamar Javed Bajwa and General Nadeem Raza made in developing bilateral ties and cooperation between the two militaries”, the Chinese embassy said in a tweet. The Chinese embassy further said China and Pakistan are all weather strategic cooperative partners. “We are proud of our time-tested friendship and are committed to build a closer community of shared future for the benefit of two peoples, the region and the world at large”, the embassy said.