General Qamar Javed Bajwa takes charge as army chief at GHQ

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Wednesday was formally welcomed at the General Headquarters (GHQ) Rawalpindi, just a day after accepting the command of Pakistan’s military from General Raheel Sharif.

General Bajwa laid a wreath at the Yadgar-i-Shuhada upon his arrival at the GHQ and observed a welcoming guard of honour.

The COAS took charge as the 16th army chief of the world’s sixth-largest army by troop numbers in a colourful handover on Tuesday.

The succession ceremony where General Raheel Sharif handed over the ceremonial baton, the Malacca Cane, to his successor held at the GHQ hockey stadium in the garrison city.

The event was attended by heads of the armed forces, top civil-military leadership and other local and international dignitaries.

 

Last Saturday, PM Nawaz picked General Bajwa to replace General Raheel Sharif, the popular military leader credited with improving security and driving back militant groups.

General Bajwa was commissioned in 16 Baloch Regiment on 24 October 1980.

He is a graduate of Canadian Forces Command and Staff College, (Toronto) Canada, Naval Post Graduate University, Monterey (California) United States, National Defence University, Islamabad.

General Bajwa has been an instructor at School of Infantry and Tactics, Quetta, Command and Staff College, Quetta and NDU.

He has also been Brigade Major of an Infantry Brigade and Chief of Staff of Rawalpindi Corps.

General Bajwa has commanded 16 Baloch Regiment, an Infantry Brigade and has commanded Infantry Division in Northern Areas (Commander FCNA).

He has also commanded Pakistan Contingent in Congo. He has commanded Rawalpindi Corps and is presently Inspector General Training and Evaluation at GHQ.

General Bajwa is expected to help reset fraught relations between the military and the civilian government in a nuclear-armed nation of 190 million people and will face vast challenges at home and abroad.