New COAS, CJCSC

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday announced to appoint Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa as the new Chief of Army staff (COAS) and Lt Gen Zubair Hayat as Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee (CJCSC).
With the decision of Prime Minister, a week long speculations, rumours ended regarding guesswork that who will be the new COAS. Both generals would take up their new posts from Tuesday, the day the current army Chief Raheel Sharif retires. Other two names surfaced in contention for the post of army chief were Bahawalpur Corps Commander Lt Gen Javed Iqbal Ramday and Multan Corps Commander Lt Gen Ishfaq Nadeem. All four generals are from the PMA’s 62nd long course.
It is good omen that Gen Raheel Sharif decided to retire gracefully after completing his tenure as COAS. His popularity further increased after the decision of not taking an extension. He has set great trend and very high bar to follow for the upcoming Chief. He leaves behind a legacy that will be challenging for the new army chief to measure up to. After successful military operation Zarb-e-Azb his fame increased at a level that is unprecedented. We can proudly say that during his tenure he made Pakistan indeed a much safer place.
Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa belongs to Baloch Regiment, currently serving at the GHQ as Inspector General of Training and Evaluation, interestingly Gen Raheel Sharif also held same position before coming COAS. It is considered that he believes extremism is a bigger threat for the country than any other threat. His military colleagues say he is not protocol-minded and apolitical person without any biases. Lt Gen Zubair Hayat is from the artillery and the serving Chief of General Staff (CGS). Previously he was posted director general of the Strategic Plans Division and corps commander Bahawalpur. It is considered he has an almost exclusive jurisdiction over nuclear forces and assets. New COAS as Gen Raheel Sharif’s successor would have to deal with number of internal and external challenges. Some of the major challenges include making this country terror free, not letting go away gains of fight against terrorism by eliminating militancy completely, dealing with foreign aggression at Eastern border, successful completion of China Pakistan Economic Corridor and successful execution of development plans etc.
It is a reality that military in Pakistan holds great influence when it comes to internal and external affairs. But in Pakistan being a democratic country, civilian supremacy in all affairs needs to be realized. It is good omen that civilian and military leadership remained on same page to deal with all the challenges. We hope new army chief along with dealing with all the challenges would also prove himself as guardian of Pakistan’s democratic system.
Daily Patriot extends best wishes for Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa to overcome all the internal and external challenges this country is facing. We hope that during their tenures our country would completely eradicate menace of terrorism and extremism.