After 6 years of glory, stability and successful anti-terrorism campaigns on all borders, including the infamous intrusion of India Air Force Jets following shooting down of an Indian MiG-21 in February 2019, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the 10th Chief of the Army Staff of the Pakistan Army is set to retire in November 2022.
Following the recent regime change turmoil in the country, tensions escalated between the US and Pakistan, however, General Bajwa lived up to his reputation of keeping peace with the US.
In a speech at a forum in Islamabad, general Qamar Javed Bajwa said, “We have a history of long and excellent strategic relationship with the U.S., which remains our largest export market. Pakistan enjoys a close strategic relationship with China demonstrated by our commitment towards Pakistan China Economic Corridor. We seek to broaden and expand our ties with both the countries without impacting our relationship with the other.”
In the same address, the Army Chief also called for dialogue to resolve all disputes with India.
Earlier this year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and discussed matters of mutual interest, regional security and bilateral defence cooperation.
General Bajwa was sworn in as the 10th COAS by the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, superseding two generals, Lt-Gen. Zubair Hayat and Lt-Gen. Javed Ramday, who were senior than him. The Reuters reported that Prime Minister Sharif picked Bajwa because of his low-key style
In November 2019, after a dramatic turn of events, General Bajwa’s term as the COAS was extended which went down to be a last minute showdown. The Supreme Court took notice of a petition challenging the extension ordered by then Prime Minister Imran Khan and suspended the extension.
Even though General Bajwa’s predecessor, General Raheel Sharif was also given extension in his term as the COAS, his case was unprecedented. No such hearing over an extension for an army chief had ever been held in Pakistan, despite a history of army chiefs’ tenures being extended.
In a 2018 article, Forbes identified General Bajwa as the proponent of democracy writing. two years into his tenure as the head of the world’s sixth largest Army, Bajwa has established himself as a mediator and proponent of democracy.
In the early years of his appointment, the improving relations between Pakistan and India were also attributed to General Bajwa’s strategic policies.
In a recent statement, Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi said that the services which rendered by Pakistan Army under leadership of Chief Of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa for elimination of terrorism and enhancing the prestige of the country and the nation at the international level are unforgettable, as such elements who are running poisonous and baseless campaign against Pakistan Army and General Qamar Javed Bajwa are in fact want to destabilize the defence of the country and the nation.
