Lt Gen Qamar Bajwa appointed as Pakistan army chief

Pakistan Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif made a verbal attack on Thursday on India by saying if Pakistan would do any surgical strike on India then it would be remembered by Indian generations to come.

As for how Bajwa, who belongs to a regiment that has produced three army chiefs in the past, will lead compared to his predecessor, she cited his reputation for shunning the limelight.

This represents an orderly transition: the new man was among the small clutch of possible successors, and his elevation does not affect the established hierarchical processes. The army says it has killed 3,500 terrorists since the launch of the “Zarb-e-Azb” military campaign in June 2014.

“Some of the hyper-nationalists, some TV anchors and retired [military] mafia wanted him to stay, but he disappointed them”, said Saad Mohammed, a retired brigadier general.

Mr. Zaidi, the columnist, added that General Sharif would leave behind a mixed legacy on relations with elected leaders.

His earlier picks were Gen Asif Nawaz Janjua (1991), Gen Waheed Kakar (1993), Gen Musharraf (1998) and Gen Raheel Sharif (2013).

Although Premier Sharif will be picking the Pakistani Army chief for a record fifth time, the job will not be an easy one for him this time.

As a Lieutenant colonel, General Qamar Javed Bajwa served in X Corps, where he was a general staff officer. He was a popular General and had been depicted on publicity material for local bodies’ elections and on posters put up by banned groups.

General Bajwa, among other key assignments, has commanded the army’s largest “10 Corp”, which is also responsible for the area along the Kashmir LoC. He is the first army chief in two decades to do so.

The third candidate is Lieutenant General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Lt-Gen Bajwa has served as chief of the army’s training and evaluation branch. Qamar Javed Bajwa has been appointed as the new army chief and Gen. He has commanded 16 Baloch Regiment, an Infantry Brigade and has commanded Infantry Division in Northern Areas ( Commander FCNA).

“Lt Gen Bajwa has served with a United Nations mission in Congo as a brigade commander alongside former Indian army chief Gen Bikram Singh, who was also there as a division commander”. Gen. Bajwa is expected to continue to target Indian Army across the LoC through raids by Kashmiri militants, covert operations by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and the occasional artillery and mortar bombardment..

But in many ways, the fact that Gen. Sharif was bowing out on time – and will pass his bamboo swagger stick to Bajwa in a formal military ceremony on Wednesday – mattered even more.

Pakistan’s prime minister has named his choice for the next head of the country’s army after weeks of uncertainty, and just days before the position falls vacant.

A serving three-star general, who knows Gen Bajwa personally, described the new army chief a “down to earth and very hard working” professional.