Gen Qamar Bajwa to assume command of Pak Army today
The change of command ceremony is scheduled to be held at the hockey ground adjacent to GHQ.
RAWALPINDI (Dunya News) - General Qamar Javed Bajwa will take up the post of the 16th Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army today (Tuesday) to replace General Raheel Sharif, Dunya News reported.
Invitations have been dispatched to ambassadors, civil leaders, military officials among other dignitaries to attend the change of command ceremony that is scheduled to be held at the hockey ground adjacent to General Headquarters (GHQ).
On the other hand, General Zubair Mehmood Hayat has assumed charge as the Chairman of Joint Chiefs Staff Committee (CJCSC) on Monday in a ceremony that was held in the GHQ.
In the ceremony, contingents of all three armed forces conducted a march-past while the freshly appointed CJCSC reviewed Guard of Honour.
The ceremony was attended by chiefs of all three armed forces including the army chief designate.
Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif designated General Bajwa as the army chief on Saturday after which he convened a one-on-one meeting with him as well as with General Hayat.
The decision came after the premier returned from his two-day Turkmenistan visit following which he convened a meeting with President Mamnoon Hussain and took him in confidence over the decision and fresh appointments.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA), Khurshid Shah and chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) among other leaders of different political parties welcomed PM Nawaz’s decision and hoped that the new military chief followed the footsteps of his predecessor, General Raheel Sharif.
The outgoing chief has been lauded by both national and international bodies for his fruitful actions against extremism in the country. Operation Zarb-e-Azb, a large-scale coercive action against hideouts and thousands of terrorists in Norht Waziristan was launched in June 2014, under his supervision.
General Raheel Sharif chaired a farewell meeting of corps commanders in GHQ on Monday during which he thanked the commanders for cooperation that led to success of Pakistan Army on multiple fronts in past years.
