What India should know about Pakistan's new Army chief
On November 26, General Qamar Javed Bajwa was chosen as Pakistan's new army chief, which surprises many, from Pakistan as well as India. He ranked the second lowest in terms of seniority of the names submitted by the outgoing army chief Raheel Sharif to Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif. What may have tipped the scales in his favour is his experience in the Kashmir corridor, say analysts.
Many experts believe Bajwa is following in the footsteps of Raheel Sharif as, in 2013, when the then army chief General Kayani announced that he would not seek an extension for a second time, general Sharif was not among the favourites in the race for army chief either.
Even after he beat the odds to lead the Pakistan army, his detractors continued to doubt him saying he lacked an intelligence and operations background. Moreover, Bajwa is expected to continue Pakistan's army's policy of putting pressure on the civilian government in not engaging in a comprehensive dialogue with India.
Qamar Javed Bajwa has extensive experience in operations in Kashmir and Pakistan's Northern Areas, and his job to formulate counter-terrorism, for the government has put him ahead of senior contenders for the top job. Interestingly, Bajwa has served with a UN mission in Congo as a brigade commander, alongside former Indian army chief General Bikram Singh, who was deployed as a division commander.
A recent report published in Bulletin of Atomic Scientists suggested that Pakistan has developed an estimated stockpile of 130 to 140 warheads for delivery and will be the fifth largest nuke capable nation by 2025, and will stand third biggest nuke capable state. With Pakistan having six lakh of active military might, the question is how will Bajwa do justice to by far the most powerful Pakistani job?
Many challenges before Bajwa
The country's powerful military still faces many challenges, with attacks continuing elsewhere and heightened tensions with India along the mutual de facto border in Kashmir. Now he will have a duty to help Pakistan restore peace along with India at the LoC in Kashmir, and strive to curb homegrown terrorism in Pakistan. He will also have to deal with the terror outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. Bajwa is also expected to work with the ISI, the Pakistan government and terrorist organisations very cleverly and tactfully in favour of Pakistan.
Who is Bajwa?
Bajwa is currently the Inspector General for Training and Development at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. General Raheel Sharif, who is set to retire on November 29, also served in this same post before taking over as army chief. Bajwa is from the infantry's Baloch Regiment, which has given three officers to the post of army chief - general Yahya Khan, general Aslam Beg and general Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. He was commissioned in the 10th Baloch Regiment in October 1980. He graduated from the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College in Toronto and is a Naval Post Graduate from Monetray University, California. He also studied at the National Defence University in Islamabad. Bajwa has also been an instructor at the School of Infantry and Tactics at Quetta.
Sheer coincidence
Describing Pakistan's new Army chief, former Indian Army chief General Bikram Singh, under whom Bajwa has worked in UN force, said Bajwa was a "thorough professional" who gave an "outstanding performance" in the Congo mission, but said things change once an officer goes back to his home country and India should wait and watch, and be "careful".
Though little is publicly known about the ancestry of general Bajwa, he is said to be a Punjabi Muslim Jat. Incidentally, Indian Army chief General DS Suhag also happens to be a Jat. The appointment of Qamar Javed Bajwa has sent a significant signal to archrival India as the new army chief has remained clear about his stance towards India all through his service.