Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has appointed Lt. General Qamar Javed Bajwa as the new Chief of Army Staff upon General Raheel Sharif’s retirement on November 29.
This transition in military leadership is significant as Gen Raheel Sharif is the first army chief to retire on time during the last two decades, and Pakistan is successfully prosecuting its war on terrorism.
Lt. General Zubair Hayat has been appointed as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, replacing General Rashid Mahmood who is also due to retire on 29 November.
Both Bajwa and Hayat will be promoted to the rank of four star generals.
Gen Bajwa is currently serving at the GHQ as Inspector General of Training and Evaluation — the position Gen Sharif held before becoming army chief . He has commanded the 10 Corps, the army’s largest, which is responsible for the area along the Line of Control (LoC).
In addition to his vast experience as a miliary leader in Kashmir and the northern areas Lt. Gen Bajwa has led the Force Command Northern Areas. He also served in the 10 Corps as lieutenant colonel, where he was GSO.
According to Pakistani newspaper Dawn, despite his extensive involvement with Kashmir and northern areas, Lt. Gen Bajwa is said considers extremism a bigger threat to the country than India.
He also has served with a UN mission in Congo as a brigade commander alongside former Indian army chief Gen Bikram Singh, who was also there as a division commander.
Previously Lt. Gen Bajwaw also remained the commandant of the Infantry School in Quetta.
