ISLAMABAD: Today, PM Shehbaz Sharif will meet with departing Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa (Monday).
The meeting will take place in Islamabad, where the PM is now located. To honour the departing army chief, the premier will host a luncheon.
Gen. Bajwa will retire as Pakistan Army commander on November 29 after six years in that position.
On November 29, 2016, the then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif elevated Gen. Bajwa to the position of COAS.
Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, extended General Bajwa’s three-year appointment as chief of the army staff for an additional three years, beginning in November 2019 and lasting until November 2022.
Army to Maintain Neutrality
The departing army chief stated during his final public speech at the Defense and Martyrs Day ceremony that the army will avoid politics and solely carry out its constitutional duties.
Declaring the army’s involvement in the politics of the nation to be unconstitutional, it was claimed that confusion was brought about by the fabrication of a false and fictitious story.The army, he said, has decided not to interfere in political affairs, and he added that this was against the constitution.
General Bajwa commented, “I am honoured to have served as the commander of this beautiful army for six years,” adding that the peace in the cities and towns was due to the sacrifices made by the martyrs.