ISLAMABAD/KARACHI     -       Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said Friday that the appointment of next army chief would be decided within a few days. Talking to a private news channel late Friday, he said, ‘The prime minister has the constitutional authority to exercise his power to appoint the army chief.” He said the consensuses had been made for the appointment and the process will be initiated very soon adding “in my opinion, any further delay in the key appointment will not be appropriate”. Replying to a question regarding consultation with coalition parties on the key appointment, he said the prime minister can discuss but the deciding authority rests with him. Rana Sanaullah said the agenda of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI’s) long march to influence the army chief appointment has been failed. PTI chief Imran Khan’s narrative was based on lies and baseless accusations on political opponents, he added. “It is not a suitable time to conduct early elections and Imran Khan knows very well that general elections would be held on its scheduled time,” Rana Sanaullah said. According to a private news channel, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the matter of the next army chief’s appointment would be settled ‘in a day or two.’ Sanaullah said: “I believe the prime minister has completed this pro-cess (of consultation about the army chief appointment) and will bring it to paper, today or tomorrow or the next two days, [it] takes no time.” Upon further questioning, the interior minister seemingly reproached the interviewer and said: “I will also request you that this is a matter of a day or two so don’t ask questions which can lead to unnecessary speculation,” adding that in his opinion there “is not a lot of time left to this decision and it will come before you”. Sanaullah said that a further delay in the matter would not be “appropriate” and the next army chief would be appointed in the next two days. On the other hand, Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif on Friday said the matter of appointment of the army chief will be decided in the next three to four days. Khawaja Asif told a private TV channel that the Ministry of Defence has not yet received any summary from the army so they have not forwarded any summary to the Prime Minister. Anyhow, he explained that the appointment of the new army chief will be decided in the next three to four days. ‘PM to appoint new COAS as per law’ Former President and President of Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) Asif Ali Zardari said Friday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will appoint the new Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) in line with the law and the Constitution. According to the spokesman for the Bilawal House, Asif Ali Zardari said that they ‘strongly believe in the system of promotion in the Pakistan Army”. He said that all the “three-star generals are equal and they are fully able to lead the Pakistan Army”. He was of the view that the matter of new COAS appointment must not be “politicized” at any cost, which could cause “damage to the institution.