Major General Ashok Sigdel has been promoted to the post of Lieutenant General of the Nepal Army.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers held in Singha Durbar on Thursday took a decision to this effect.

Today’s cabinet meeting promoted Sigdel to the post based on the recommendation of the Nepal Army headquarters and proposal of the Defense Ministry, informed Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma.

This decision has paved the way for Sigdel to become the Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) from September 9, 2024. The post was lying vacant after Chief of Staff (CoS) Lieutenant General Saroj Pratap Rana retired on October 28.

Earlier, the government was making preparations to promote Major General Tara Dhwaj Pandey to this post. But he tendered his resignation on November 10 following controversies over his date of birth in his credentials.

Following Pandey’s exit, the government promoted Sigdel to the post of Lieutenant General based on seniority.