SC suspends notification of COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa's extension
- By Hassan Ayub -
- Nov 26, 2019
ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday suspended the notification confirming the extension of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa for another three years, ARY News reported.
The SC adjourned the further hearing of the case till tomorrow and served notices to the COAS, Defence Ministry and Attorney General of Pakistan.
Justice Asif Saeed Khosa remarked that the Constitution doesn’t allow the prime minister to extend the service of the army chief. “Only the president can extend his service”, he added.
The Attorney General said the extension was given after the approval from the President of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi.
On August 19, Prime Minister Imran Khan had approved the extension of General Qamar Javed Bajwa as the Chief of Army Staff.
According to a notification issued from the Prime Minister Office, the premier took the decision “in view of the regional security environment”.
Read more: General Qamar Bajwa gets three year extension as COAS
About General Qamar Javed Bajwa
General Qamar Javed Bajwa replaced General Raheel Sharif as COAS on November 29, 2016.
Before that, Bajwa was currently serving at the General Headquarters, Rawalpindi, as Inspector General of Training and Evaluation — the position Gen Sharif held before becoming army chief — he has commanded the 10 Corps, the army’s largest, which is responsible for the area along the Line of Control (LoC).
Lt Gen Bajwa had extensive experience of handling affairs in Kashmir and the northern areas of the country. As a major general, he led the Force Command Northern Areas. He also served in the 10 Corps as lieutenant colonel, where he was GSO.
Lt Gen Bajwa had served with a UN mission in Congo as a brigade commander alongside former Indian army chief Gen Bikram Singh, who was also there as a division commander.
He has previously also remained the commandant of the Infantry School in Quetta.
His military colleagues say he has this habit of remaining well-connected with his troops. He is from the infantry’s Baloch Regiment, which has given three officers to the post of army chief — Gen Yahya Khan, Gen Aslam Beg and Gen Kayani.