(By: Abdul Basit Alvi)
Pakistanis are witnessing the change of command of the Head of Armed Forces where 10th outgoing Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa is handing over Baton of Command to 11th incoming Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir Shah. Tenure of General Qamar Javed Bajwa will remain in our minds for years due to his remarkable contribution and services for forces and country.
General Qamar Javed Bajwa was born in Karachi, Sindh, on 11 November 1960, He got his education from Federal Government Sir Syed College and Gordon College, Rawalpindi before joining the Pakistan Military Academy. He Joined Pakistan Army in 1978 and was enrolled at the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) Kakul from where he was passed out with the class of 62nd PMA Long Course and gained commission in army and then joined the 16th Baloch Regiment at the Sialkot Cantonment. During his professional career he served on many key positions and proved his great potential, enthusiasm, commitment and professional skills. He served in the 5th Northern Light Infantry in Azad Kashmir, X Corps stationed in Rawalpindi as a Staff Officer, the Chief of Staff (COS) at the X Corps, Commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces-Africa Command where his services were highly appreciated, Commander of the Force Command Northern Areas division as its GOC, Served in Gilgit-Baltistan as an instructor at the School of Infantry and Tactics, Quetta, taught staff course at Command and Staff College in Quetta, instructor of course on national security at the National Defense University Islamabad, as field commander of the X Corps stationed in Rawalpindi, served as Colonel Commandant of the Baloch Regiment. Lt-Gen. Bajwa was posted in the General Headquarters on 22nd September 2015 and was then appointed as the Inspector-General of the Training and Evaluation (IGT&E) where he was a Principal Staff Officer to the then Chief of Army Staff.
In 2016, Prime Minister of that time announced to appoint General Bajwa as new Army Chief. On 19 August 2019, his tenure as army chief was extended for another three years, starting from November 2019 until November 2022.
In light of excellent services, he was honored with the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) in August 2011. Throughout during his tenure, he successfully leaded the world’s sixth largest military forces which are bravely engaged in protection of our around 6,774 km (4,209 miles) long borders. Under his command the nationwide operations of Radd ul Fasaad and Khayber-4 were launched which gave tremendous results. Operation Radd Ul Fasaad was started on Februray 22, 2017 and it was a diversified operation which was aimed to disarm and eliminate the terrorist and militant groups across all over Pakistan and consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb. It was also aimed to ensure the security at Pakistani borders. The operation remained very successful and targets of the operation were achieved according to its spirit. During his tenure the second Operation was Khayber 4 which was launched on July 15, 2017. Under both of these operations thousands of terrorists were either killed or arrested. Pak army successfully achieved all goals by losing precious lives of the sons of our soil. These operations played a key role in bringing peace and eliminating terrorism in the country. General Bajwa’s vision of eliminating terrorism which is still ongoing was successfully implemented and followed according to its true spirit by our heroes. Fencing on borders was done for controlling cross border movement.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa lauded the country’s first-ever National Security Policy (NSP) 2022-2026, saying that it would help ensure the national security of Pakistan and added that Pakistan’s first-ever National Security Policy places the safety, security, dignity and prosperity of its citizens at the heart of our security policy.
On July 25, 2018, general elections were held in Pakistan. Pakistan Army played the role of mediators in these elections. They never wanted to play such role and this was election commission and government of that time which requested them to provide assistance in electoral process. General Bajwa always emphasized on neutral role of armed forces. Unfortunately, in Pakistan we don’t have culture of tolerance and acceptance. One who fails in election always blames establishment .Establishment have always been a soft and easy target for such propaganda due to many reasons. Apart from these baseless allegations against Pakistan Army it is realty that election 2018 were held in quite peaceful manner where no major mishap and irregularity was reported immediately and credit goes to General Bajwa.
General Bajwa played a very active role in helping the government to come out of financial crises. He requested US to use their influence on IMF for releasing bailout package for Pakistan. He visited many countries, met and called many rulers and leaders of the world for getting financial aid for Pakistan. He used his influence for bringing Pakistan out of FATF Grey list and the role of Army was highly appreciated by Government on obtaining this remarkable achievement. Mostly it is assumed that Army have nothing to do with financial matters of the country but General Bajwa brought a positive change and played a very active and positive role for the country.
Pakistan Army’s role in current flood relief operation is quite remarkable where they are helping the affectees on 24/7 basis. General Bajwa clearly said that none of them will sit till rescue of even a single affectee.
Army under General Bajwa’s command played a very active role to fight against COVID-19. The active role of Pakistan Army in NCOC was remarkable which helped in successfully control the pandemic and minimizing the death tolls.
Restoration & continuation of Cricket and other sports related activities in the country are also due to his personal interest and surety of fool proof security environment across the country.
He tried his level best to refrain from biasing and focused on keeping the institution neutral. The glimpse of this approach was seen in recent by-elections which were held in quite free and fair environment and no one raised any issue of interference.
After his remarkable tenure General Bajwa is going to retire on November 29, 2022. Whole nation appreciates his role and excellent services for the Country.
General Syed Asim Munir Shah has been appointed as new Chief of Pakistan Armed forces. He is a true gentleman and has been appointed for the position because of his seniority on other Lt. Generals. He is also a pure soldier and highly professional commander. During his notable military career he served on many key positions. Syed Asim Munir is from the 17th course of the Officers Training School in Mangla. He was commissioned in the 23rd Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General in September 2018 and was subsequently appointed as DG ISI. He previously served as Director General of Military Intelligence and Corps Commander of XXX Corps (30 Corps) Gujranwala. Currently he is serving in GHQ as Quartermaster General. He was awarded the Hilal-i-Imtiaz in March 2018. The new Chief has rich experience in military operations. He also served as military attaché at Pakistan Embassy in Washington and Pakistan Embassy in Saudi Arabia during his military career spanning over three decades and is considered as one of the most professional and finest military officers. Gen Asim Munir is a native of Jhang district in Punjab but later settled in Rawalpindi. He is also a Hafiz-e-Quran. General Syed Asim Munir Shah is a best fit for this highest position of the Armed Forces.
Whole nation warmly welcomes the new Army chief and have full faith on his competencies and skills which will not only continue but will accelerate the remarkable role of our Armed forces for Pakistan in all internal and external fronts.
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