Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa appointed as new army chief while Lt Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat chosen as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of Pakistan
ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif promoted General Qamar Javed Bajwa appointed as the 16th Chief of Army Staff (COAS) to head the 5.50 lac army while Lt General Zubair Mahmood Hayat has been appointed as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) of Pakistan today.
President Mamnoon Hussain promoted the two lieutenant generals to the rank of four-star generals on the advice of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
COAS Gen Raheel Sharif and CJCSC Gen Rashad Mahmood are retiring on Nov 29. Both generals would take up their new posts from Tuesday.
The ceremony for the change of command of Pakistan Army will be held at the General Head Quarters (GHQ) Rawalpindi at 10:30 am on November 29. The outgoing Army Chief General Raheel Sharif will hand over the ‘command stick’ to General Qamar Javed Bajwa during the ceremony.
The prime minister welcomes the new COAS and CJCSC soon after their appointment.
Profile of General Qamar Javed Bajwa
Lieutenant General Qamar Javed Bajwa was commissioned in the 16 Baloch Regiment in October 1980. He has served as chief of the army’s training and evaluation branch and was commissioned in Pakistan Army’s Sindh Regiment in 1982.
He is a graduate of the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College, Toronto, Canada, The Naval Post Graduate University, California and the National Defence Univesity, Islamabad.
He has commanded 10 Corps [Rawalpindi Corps], which is responsible for the most sensitive areas of the country and a position that plays a pivotal role as almost the entire border with India comes under its jurisdiction.
Qamar Bajwa attended Pakistan Military Academy’s 62nd long course. He has been posted at several operational and staff positions in the army, including commanding Pakistan Contingent in Congo, and is considered an excellent military officer.
In May 2009, he was promoted to the rank of major general. As a major general, Bajwa Served as the Force Commander of Gilgit Baltistan and held the title of the General Officer Commanding. In August, he was awarded Hilal-e-Imitaz Military.
Profile of Lt Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat
Lt Gen Zubair Hayat is from the artillery and the serving Chief of General Staff (CGS). Lt-Gen Hayat was posted as head of the army’s Strategic Plans Division which ensures the safety of nuclear institutions.
As a major general, Hayat served as General Officer Commanding (GOC) Sialkot and led Staff Duties Directorate. He was elevated to lieutenant general in January 2013 and was instated as corps commander Bahawalpur.
Gen Zubair is a second generation officer. His father retired as a major general, while two of his brothers are generals: Pakistan Ordnance Factories Wah Chairman Lt Gen Omar Hayat and Inter-Services Intelligence DG Maj Gen Ahmad Mahmood Hayat.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif extended his good wishes for the new army chief, ‘The military policy would continue and there would be no immediate change in it. The legacy of General Raheel Sharif would continue in the light of the examples he set.’