Qamar Javed Bajwa

General
Qamar Javed Bajwa
HI(M)
16th Chief of Army Staff
Assumed office
29 November 2016
President Mamnoon Hussain
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
Preceded by Gen Raheel Sharif
Inspector General of the Training and Evaluation
In office
22 September 2015 – 29 November 2016
President Mamnoon Hussain
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
Preceded by Lt Gen Ikramul Haq
Commander X Corps, Rawalpindi
In office
14 August 2013 – 22 September 2015
President Mamnoon Hussain
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
Preceded by Lt Gen Khalid Nawaz Khan
Succeeded by Lt Gen Malik Zafar Iqbal
Personal details
Born (1959-01-02) 2 January 1959[1]
Ghakhar Mandi, Punjab, Pakistan
Parents Col Muhammad Iqbal Bajwa (father)
Awards Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military)
Military service
Allegiance  Pakistan
Service/branch  Pakistan Army
Years of service 1980 - present
Rank General
Unit 16 Baloch Regiment

General Qamar Javed Bajwa (Urdu: قمر جاوید باجوہ) HI(M), is the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army.[2][3][4] Born in Ghakhar Mandi, Bajwa was commissioned in 1980 in the Baloch Regiment.[5] Previously he served at the GHQ as the Inspector General of the Training and Evaluation from 2015 to 2016[6][7] and as the Corps Commander X Corps from 2013 to 2015 which is responsible for the area along the Line of Control.[2] Bajwa also served as a peacekeeper in the UN mission in Congo as a brigade commander.[8][9]

Early life and family

Bajwa was born in 1959[10][11] and in 1960 according to some reports[12] in Ghakhar Mandi, Punjab, Pakistan[13] to a Jat family.[14][15] His father Col Muhammad Iqbal Bajwa was an officer of Pakistani Army.[13] His mother died in September 2013.[16] Bajwa's father-in-law was also an Pakistani Army officer who retired as a major general.[17]

Education

Bajwa is a graduate of Canadian Army Command and Staff College, Naval Postgraduate School, and National Defence University, Pakistan.[18][19]

Military career

Bajwa was commissioned in 16 Baloch Regiment on 24 October 1980.[18] In 1982, he was transferred to Sind Regiment.[3][19] As lieutenant colonel, he served in the X Corps which is stationed in Rawalpindi, where he was general staff officer.[6] As a brigadier, Bajwa served as Chief of Staff at X Corps and has also commanded formation division in Northern Areas as formation commander.[20][21] Bajwa has also commanded a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo.[6][21] He served in Congo as a brigade commander in 2007 under[22][23] former Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army Bikram Singh, who was serving there as a division commander.[2] Gen Singh later termed Bajwa's performance there as "professional and outstanding."[22]

In May 2009, he was promoted to the rank of major general.[24] As a major general, Bajwa served as the Force Commander of Gilgit-Baltistan[25][26][27] and held the title of the General Officer Commanding.[2][20] In August 2011, he was awarded Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military).[28] Bajwa was an instructor at School of Infantry and Tactics in Quetta,[29] at Command and Staff College in Quetta and at National Defence University, Pakistan.[18][19]

He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in August 2013[30] and was installed as Corps Commander X Corps shortly after.[31][32] He was Grade-I officer during his tenure as Corps Commander X Corps.[21] In 2014, Bajwa was installed as Colonel Commandant of Baloch Regiment.[33] In September 2015, he was appointed as the Inspector General of the Training and Evaluation at the GHQ where he was a Principal Staff Officer to then Chief of Army Staff Raheel Sharif.[7][34]

Since Bajwa has been posted in X Corps thrice,[21] which is the army's important and largest corps,[2] Bajwa has good experience of handling affairs in Kashmir.[2][35] But reportedly, he considers religious extremism to be a bigger threat to national security in Pakistan rather than India.[2] He belongs to the infantry's 16 Baloch Regiment[2][6] and 62nd Pakistan Military Academy Long Course.[35] However, he lack the experience of armed conflict because he has never been posted in a war zone area.[36]

Chief of Army Staff

In November 2016, Bajwa was promoted to the rank of four star general and was appointed as the 16th Chief of the Army Staff of the Pakistan Army by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, succeeding Raheel Sharif.[2][19] It is believed that his pro-democracy track record and views played a key role in his appointment for the COAS slot.[37] The Guardian reported that Bajwa was appointed as the Chief of the Army Staff despite a maligning campaign on social media sites that spread claims that relatives of Bajwa were members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.[38][39] Reuters reported that he was selected because of his low-profile personality.[40] He is reported to be a genuine military man with no interest in politics[2] and the one who remains well-connected with the troops and doesn't seek attention and protocol.[35]

References

  1. ↑ "General Qamar Javed Bajwa takes over as Pakistan's new army chief, vows to improve LoC tension". The Indian Express. 29 Nov 2016. Retrieved 2 Dec 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa chosen as new army chief". DAWN.COM. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 "New Army Chief, CJCSC appointed". Radio Pakistan. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  4. ↑ Masood, Salman (26 November 2016). "Pakistan Names New Military Leader". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "Ex-Indian army chief praises Gen Qamar Jawed Bajwa - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Who will be the next army chief?". DAWN.COM. 14 August 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Four army officers including DG ISPR Asim Bajwa made three-star generals". DAWN.COM. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa chosen as new army chief". DAWN.COM. 2016-11-26. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  9. ↑ "Profile of Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  10. ↑ "Pakistan's outgoing army chief Raheel Sharif issues warning to India - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  11. ↑ "General Qamar Javed Bajwa takes over as Pakistan's new army chief, vows to improve LoC tension". The Indian Express. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  12. ↑ "General Qamar Bajwa fourth oldest Pak Army chief". www.thenews.com.pk. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  13. 1 2 "Residents of Gakhar Mandi celebrate new COAS appointment". DAWN.COM. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  14. ↑ Banerji, Rana (26 November 2016), "Pakistan Has a New Army Chief. Here's What We Know About Him", The Wire, retrieved 1 December 2016
  15. ↑ Staff reporter (28 November 2016), "'No caste system' in Pak Army", The Nation, retrieved 1 December 2016
  16. ↑ "Obituary". The News. 27 September 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  17. ↑ "Bajwa solid soldier who believes in civilian supremacy". The Nation. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  18. 1 2 3 "General Qamar Javed Bajwa appointed Pakistan Army chief". Geo. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa appointed new army chief - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  20. 1 2 "Lt Gen Qamar Javed new Commander 10 Corps". www.thenews.com.pk. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Recorder, Business (19 September 2016). "Next Army chief: Lieutenant-General Qamar Bajwa strongest candidate?". Business Recorder. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  22. 1 2 "Will Qamar Javed Bajwa be as hostile as Raheel Sharif to India? - Times of India". The Times of India. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  23. ↑ "Ex-Indian army chief praises Pakistan's incoming chief Gen Bajwa". DAWN.COM. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  24. ↑ "24 brigadiers made major generals". The News. 9 May 2009. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  25. ↑ "Goodbye Gen Raheel, who's next?". www.thenews.com.pk. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  26. ↑ "Who will be the next Army Chief?". Samaa TV. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  27. ↑ "Administration given 10 days to widen spillway". DAWN.COM. 19 June 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  28. ↑ "Military Awards". The News. 15 August 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  29. ↑ "Four major generals made lieutenant general". www.thenews.com.pk. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  30. ↑ "Four major generals promoted". DAWN.COM. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  31. ↑ "Lt-Gen Qamar new Rawalpindi corps commander: ISPR". Pakistan Today. 12 August 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  32. ↑ "General Raheel Sharif visits LoC". DAWN.COM. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  33. ↑ "INSTALLATION CEREMONY COLONEL IN CHIEF/ COLONEL COMMANDANT OF BALOCH REGIMENT". ISPR. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  34. ↑ "Four major generals promoted to lieutenant generals". www.thenews.com.pk. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  35. 1 2 3 "Who will be the new army chief?". Pakistan Today. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  36. ↑ "PM picks Gen Qamar Bajwa to head army". DAWN.COM. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  37. ↑ "Pakistani Media On Why Qamar Bajwa Got The Country's Top Military Job". NDTV.com. 28 November 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  38. ↑ "Qamar Javed Bajwa selection as Pakistan new army chief highlights the Ahmadi struggle". The Indian Express. 27 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  39. ↑ Boone, Jon (26 November 2016). "Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif names new chief of army staff". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  40. ↑ Zahra-Malik, Drazen Jorgic and Mehreen (26 November 2016). "Pakistan PM Sharif names General Bajwa as new army chief". Reuters UK. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
Military offices
Preceded by
Gen Raheel Sharif		 Chief of Army Staff
2016–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by
Lt Gen Ikramul Haq		 Inspector General of the Training and Evaluation
2015–2016 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Lt Gen Khalid Nawaz Khan		 Commander X Corps, Rawalpindi
2013–2015 		Succeeded by
Lt Gen Malik Zafar Iqbal
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