Qamar Javed Bajwa


Qamar Javed Bajwa,, is a Pakistani military officer who is the 10th and current Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army since 29 November 2016. In 2018, he was ranked as the 68th most influential person in the world by Forbes magazine. Born in Gujranwala, General Bajwa was educated at the Sir Syed College and Gordon College in Rawalpindi before joining the Pakistan Military Academy in 1978.
General Bajwa was commissioned in 1980 in the 16th Battalion of the Baloch Regiment. Prior to his appointment as the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army, he served at the General Headquarters as the Inspector General of the Training and Evaluation from 22 September 2015 to 29 November 2016 and as field commander of the X Corps from 14 August 2013 to 22 September 2015 which is responsible for the area along the Line of Control at Kashmir. In addition, he served as a Brigadier in the UN mission in Congo and as a brigade commander in 2007. General Bajwa was awarded with the position as Chief of Army Staff till November 2019. The tenure was further extended for 6 months by Supreme Court of Pakistan..
On 7th January 2020, National Assembly Of Pakistan passed bills to extend General Bajwa's tenure upto three years till 29 November 2022.

Early life and education

Born in Karachi Sindh, Pakistan on 11 November 1960, Bajwa was educated at the Sir Syed College and Gordon College in Rawalpindi before joining the Pakistan military Academy in 1978. His family hails from Ghakhar Mandi, Punjab. Muhammad Iqbal Bajwa, was an officer of Pakistan Army who died while in service in 1967 in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. Bajwa was seven years old when his father died and he was the youngest of five siblings. He and his siblings were raised by their mother, who died in September 2013. Bajwa's father-in-law, Ijaz Amjad, was also a Pakistan Army officer who retired with a two-star rank, Major-General.
Bajwa completed his secondary and intermediate education at Sir Syed College in Rawalpindi and Gordon College in Rawalpindi before joining the Pakistan Army in 1978, which directed him to attend the military academy. He was sent to attend the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul and passed out with the class of 62nd PMA Long Course in 1980.
Bajwa is a graduate of Command and Staff in Canada and later attended and secured his graduation from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, United States. He also attended the National Defence University. Bajwa is married to Ayesha. The couple have two sons, Saad and Ali.

Career in the military

After joining the Pakistan Army in 1978, Bajwa was sent to enrolled at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, and passed out from the PMA Kakul where he gained commissioned as 2nd-Lt., on 24 October 1980 in the 16th Baloch Regiment at the Sialkot Cantonment – the same unit that his father commanded.
In 1988, Major Bajwa briefly served in the 5th Northern Light Infantry Regiment in Kashmir. In addition, Lieutenant-Colonel Bajwa served in the X Corps, stationed in Rawalpindi, as a staff officer. Upon promoting as one-star rank army general, Brigadier Bajwa served as the Chief of Staff at the X Corps before promoting to the two-star rank and commanding a division in Northern Pakistan.
In 2003, Brig. Bajwa commanded the Pakistan Armed Forces-Africa Command, attached to the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO, in Congo Brig. Bajwa served in the Congo as a brigade commander under then-Major General Bikram Singh, the former Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army from 2012–14. Gen. Singh later termed Bajwa's performance there as "professional and outstanding."
After being promoted to two-star rank in May 2009, Major-General Bajwa took over the command of the Force Command Northern Areas as its GOC, stationed in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.
In August 2011, he was honored with the Hilal-i-Imtiaz, and posted as an instructor at the School of Infantry and Tactics in Quetta, and later taught staff course at Command and Staff College in Quetta, and course on national security at the National Defence University.
On 14 August 2013, Maj-Gen. Bajwa was promoted to three-star rank and posted as field commander of the X Corps, stationed in Rawalpindi. He was appointed as Grade-I officer during his tenure as field commander of the X Corps. The appointment was commented in the news media that noted that Lt-Gen. Bajwa had been posted in X Corps thrice, which is the army's important and largest corps, which has experience of keeping control over the situation in Kashmir.
In 2014, Lt-Gen. Bajwa was appointed as Colonel Commandant of Baloch Regiment.
On 22 September 2015, Lt-Gen. Bajwa was posted in the General Headquarters when he appointed as the Inspector-General of the Training and Evaluation where he was a Principal Staff Officer to then-Chief of Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif.

Chief of Army Staff

Command reception

In 2016, Prime Minister Sharif confirmed the timely retirement of Chairman joint chiefs General Rashad Mahmood, while General Raheel Sharif dismissed rumours of seeking the extension for his term.
Initially, the race for the appointment for the army chief was rumored between Lt-Gen. Zubair Hayat and Lt-Gen. Javed Ramday who was close to the first family. However, Prime Minister Sharif announced to appoint the senior most army general, Lt-Gen. Zubair Hayat was appointed Chairman joint chiefs committee.
On 29 November 2016, Prime Minister Sharif eventually announced to appoint the fourth by seniority, General Bajwa, as the chief of army staff, superseding two generals who were senior than him.
His strong pro-democracy stance and views may have influenced his appointment as an army chief as noted by the media pundits. The Reuters Pakistan reported that Prime Minister Sharif picked Bajwa because of his low-key style. He was also noted as the fourth oldest army chief of staff.
About the reception of this appointment, Gen. Bajwa is known to have a sound understanding of Indian strategic ambitions in the region and experience of armed conflict on LoC in Kashmir. In December 2016, he was awarded Nishan-e-Imtiaz.
Under the command of Gen. Bajwa, the nationwide counterterrorism operations and Khyber-4 were launched in February 2017 and July 2017, respectively.
In October 2018, Bajwa was awarded the Order of the Military Merit by Jordan's King Abdullah II.
On 19 August 2019, his tenure as an army chief was extended for another 3 years, lasting from November 2019 till November 2022, by Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan. On 26 November, 2019, the Supreme Court of Pakistan suspended the 3 year extension.
On 28 November 2019, Supreme Court of Pakistan approved a short 6-month extension in Bajwa’s term as the COAS.
On 7th January 2020, Pakistan's National Assembly Of Pakistan passed bills to extend General Bajwa's tenure upto three years till 29 November 2022.

Public image

Bajwa is an avid reader and has keen interest in the history of Europe.
He enjoys cricket and used to play cricket as a wicket-keeper.
General Bajwa reportedly prefers to keep himself updated about the latest developments within the Indian national landscape. He has condemned extremism in all its manifestations, declaring it a key driving force for terrorism. He urged his fellow citizens especially the youth to reject extremist ideologies and terrorism without distinction"" Dawn, 18 May 2017.

Awards

Effective dates of promotion

InsigniaRankDate
Second Lieutenant
Lieutenant
Captain
MajorMajor Bajwa briefly served in the 5th Northern Light Infantry Regiment in Kashmir
Lieutenant Colonel Staff Officer X Corps.
ColonelRank not held, Direct incentive promotion as Fit Brigadier from Lieutenant Colonel
Brigadier Chief of Staff at X Corps, later commanded the Pakistan Armed Forces-Africa Command, attached to the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO, in Congo
Major-General Major-General Bajwa took command as GOC Force Command Northern Areas stationed in Gilgit-Baltistan under X Corps.
Lieutenant-General, he was promoted to three-star rank and posted as field commander of the X Corps, stationed in Rawalpindi.
General,Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif eventually promoted him to four star rank and was announced 10th Chief of Army Staff.