Islamabad (Staff Report): General Qamar Javed Bajwa will serve as Chief of Army Staff (COAS) for another three years.
According to a notification, Prime Minister Imran Khan has approved an extension in the tenure of Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa for another three years. The decision has been taken in view of the regional security environment,” said a statement from the PM office.
General Bajwa was appointed as COAS on November 26, 2016, by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. He took over command of Pakistan’s military from General (retd) Raheel Sharif, despite being fourth in order of seniority.
Before being made the army chief, Gen Bajwa was serving as the Inspector General Training and Evaluation at the General Headquarters (QHQ), the same post his predecessor General (retd) Raheel was holding before his appointment as army chief in November 2013.
Bajwa was commissioned on October 24, 1980 in the 16 Baloch Regiment, the battle-hardened force that in the past has given three army chiefs, including Gen Yahya Khan, Gen Aslam Beg and Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), he is a graduate of Canadian Forces Command and Staff College-Toronto, Naval Post Graduate University-Monterey, California and National Defence University (NDU)-Islamabad.
He has been an instructor at the School of Infantry and Tactics, Quetta, Command and Staff College, Quetta and the NDU.
Bajwa has also been Brigade Major of an Infantry Brigade and Chief of Staff of Rawalpindi Corps. General Bajwa has commanded the 16 Baloch Regiment, an Infantry Brigade as well as Infantry Division in Northern Areas.