Pakistan Appoints New Army Chief

“The premier wanted an all rounder for the top slot in Pakistan Army who could not only run the institution of Pak Army but his relation with the civil government was also important”, he said.

But once appointed, General Sharif maintained the army’s strong influence within Pakistani politics.

But there is no sign of a course correction from military headquarters in Rawalpindi, and Monday’s announcement that Sharif had begun a farewell tour scotched speculation he would extend his three-year tenure, as previous military chiefs have done.

The counter-militancy and counterterrorism actions have made General Sharif an immensely popular figure among ordinary Pakistanis.

A large number of town residents were also present on the occasion, who commended the Army Chief for his valiant efforts in the war against extremism and terrorism.

The President also promoted Lieutenant General Zubair Hayat, the senior most on the seniority list, as a full general and appointed him chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee.

Bajwa’s appointment also comes at a crucial time when relations between India and Pakistan are tense along the Kashmir border. “All Facebook / Twitter & other social media platforms IDs & accounts on his name are fake”, Lt.Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa, head of the military’s media wing, tweeted. The way that Gen. Sharif opposed, examiners said, matters much more than the late free for all of drawing-room and military enclosure hypothesis over who will supplant him.

General Zubair Mahmood Hayat was commissioned in Artillery Regiment on October 24, 1980.

Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on Sunday visited his ancestral hometown of Kunjah in district Gujrat where he inaugurated the Major Shabbir Sharif Hospital.

The Prime Minister held one-on-one meetings with the two generals and felicitated them on their appointments. Afghan News Agency on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook.

But ties between the military and Nawaz Sharif deteriorated during General Raheel Sharif’s term. He was the senior most General amongst the four contenders for the army chief post.

Gen Bajwa will face challenges ranging from an increasingly hostile India to the conflict in Afghanistan, growing links between homegrown militants and ISIL, and blowback from a Trump presidency.

His popularity came on the back of the military operation Zarb-i-Azb, which drove back Pakistani Taliban militants from their tribal strongholds and improved security.

Since August, 184 people have been killed in three major attacks in the restive Baluchistan region alone, Reuters reported.

Another Lt Gen Maqsood Ahmed serving as military adviser with the United Nations is already on an extension and WAS not eligible for promotion. Islamabad has denied all such charges.

Naeem Khalid Lodhi, a retired lieutenant general who has served as defense secretary and a corps commander, said of the departing army chief, “He leaves a legacy of clear thinking, rapid decision making, and in spite of his tremendous popularity in the public, he stuck to his mandate and never overstepped his limits”.