NEW DELHI: Pakistan's Lieutenant General
Qamar Javed Bajwa
was on Saturday appointed as the country's Army chief, replacing the hawkish General Raheel Sharif.
Qamar Javed Bajwa , who was commissioned in the 16 Baloch Regiment in October 1980, is currently serving as the Inspector General of Training and Evaluation, Dawn said in a profile. He is from the infantry's Baloch Regiment, which has had three officers become
Pakistan army
chief.
Bajwa has commanded the Pakistan Army's largest force, the 10 Corps, which oversees the areas along the Line of Control. He is a veteran in handling affairs in the troubled
Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir
(PoK) and in the northern regions of the country. Bajwa has also held the position of Force Commander Gilgit-Baltistan as a Major General.
Despite Bajwa's extensive involvement in PoK, it is said that he considers extremism a bigger threat to his country over India, Dawn said. He is also said to be an apolitical person without any biases. His military colleagues say he is not attention-seeking and remains well connected with his troops.
"He is extremely professional, but very easy-going and full of compassion," an officer who had served under him told Dawn.
Bajwa has been posted at several operational and staff positions in the army. He has previously held the post of instructor at the Infantry School, as well as at the Command and Staff College in
Quetta
.
He's also a former chief of the Force Command Northern Areas and has served with a
UN mission in
Congo
alongside former Indian army chief General Bikram Singh, who was there in his capacity as a division commander.
A report published in Pakistan's Tribune said Bajwa is a graduate of the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College in
Toronto
, The Naval Post Graduate University, California and the National Defence Univesity, Islamabad.
Bajwa will take command as Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff on November 29, the day Sharif retires from his post.
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