Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa chosen as new army chief

Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa has been appointed as the new Chief of Army Staff. Lt Gen Zubair Hayat has also been made the Chairman Joint Chief Of Staff Committee. They will take up their new posts from Tuesday. The current army chief Raheel Sharif is retiring.

Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa was chosen as the new army chief. He is currently serving at the GHQ as Inspector General of Training and Evaluation. Lt Gen Baji has extensive experience in Kashmir and the northern areas of the country. His military colleagues say he is not attention-seeking and well-connected with his troops. He considers extremism a bigger threat for the nation than India.

Lt Gen Zubair Hayat is the serving Chief of General Staff. He was previously posted as director general of Strategic Plans Division and corps commander Bahawalpur. His postings as CGS and DG SPD afforded him an opportunity to work very closely with PM Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. Gen Hayats is a second generation officer.

Gen Raheel Sharif was chosen as the new army chief despite his lack of military experience. He is credited with the start of Operation Zarb-i-Azb in North Waziristan and the action against militancy in Karachi. Gen Rahel has been supportive of the government, except for a statement at the corps commanders’ conference last November.