Pakistan&s former spy chief, Lt.

Gen.

Asim Munir, was on Thursday named Pakistan&s new army chief after months of speculation.Munir was approved by Pakistani President Arif Alvi after being nominated for the post by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.He replaces Gen.

Qamar Javed Bajwa, who retires next week.

The job is widely seen as Pakistan&s most powerful government posting.Munir is the country&s most senior general and closely aligned with Bajwa.

He was picked from a list of six candidates.Once he takes office, Munir will oversee relations between neighboring India and Afghanistan.He takes over as the country continues to deal with the fallout of devastating floods during its most recent monsoon season.

More than 1,300 people died within a few weeks of the start of monsoon season while millions have been displaced.Pakistan is also in the midst of an economic crisis, coping with soaring inflation.Though technically separate, the position of army chief often wields significant political power in Pakistan.

The army has seized power three times in Pakistan&s history and directly ruled the country for almost four decades.The post Pakistan appoints former spy as new army chief first appeared on Ariana News.