General Qamar Bajwa takes charge as the new Army Chief of Pakistan

General Qamar Bajwa was formally welcomed on his first day at office at the army headquarters in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, 30 November. Bajwa is indeed believed to be one of the generals who counseled restraint when other generals were putting pressure on Gen Sharif to “act” during the Imran Khan and Tahir-ul-Qadri dharna that really weakened the Nawaz Sharif government.

President Mamnoon Hussain has eulogized the professionalism and preparedness of Pakistan Army and said the defence of the country is in safe and capable hands.

Praising the efforts of the armed forces in the war against terrorism, Gen Raheel Sharif said that the war had been successful and its results were evident.

Dawn describes Bajwa, a “career infantry officer belonging to the Baloch Regiment”, as “something of a dark horse” in the race to succeed Sharif.

As a major-general, he led the Force Command Northern Areas, and also served in 10 Corps as a lieutenant-colonel.

Lt. General Bajwa was considered to be the dark horse in the race. They all are from 62 Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) Long Course.

Addressing the gathering, General Sharif stressed the need for all institution of the Pakistani establishment to work together “against external threats”. Raheel Sharif will retire today.

The new army chief has wide experience of LoC affairs due to his extensive involvement with PoK and northern areas, reports said here.

Rai told ANI that Lt Gen Bajwa’s appointment comes at a crucial time when relations between India and Pakistan are tense and said, “He (Bajwa) takes over when a mortar war is going on between India and Pakistan along the global border and along the LoC”. It is a well known fact that the Pakistan army shapes shapes Islamabad’s India policy.

The confirmation by the Pakistani military came amid rife speculation regarding an extension in the COAS’ term after former military ruler Musharraf called for an extension in his tenure, warning against a change in the military leadership. For India, General Raheel Sharif was a “known bete noire”, a familiar adversary.

The army chief is arguably the most powerful person in Pakistan. Indeed, though Operation Zarb-e-Azb, initiated in mid-2014, stands as Sharif’s chief domestic legacy, recent months have seen a spate of tit-for-tat attacks against India over the disputed line of control in Kashmir. But he also warned that any miscalculation on the part of India could be unsafe.

“There are several things going on in the country, which are not digested by the enemies”, he said, likely referring to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project.