Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, seen as a dark horse in the race for the post of Pakistan Army chief and considered to have extensive experience of affairs in Kashmir, emerged on Saturday as the successor to Gen Raheel Sharif.
Bajwa, a career infantry officer from the Baloch Regiment, will take over when Gen Sharif retires on November 29. Besides Bajwa, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chose Lt Gen Zubair Hayat as the next chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee.
“On the advice of Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, President Mamnoon Hussain has approved the promotion of Lieutenant General Zubair Mehmood Hayat and Lieutenant General Qamar Javed Bajwa,” the prime minister’s office said.
Much of the speculation about the next army chief in recent weeks had centred around Hayat and Lt Gen Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmed, and Bajwa – who once served alongside former Indian Army chief Gen Bikram Singh in a UN peacekeeping mission in Congo – wasn’t seen as a frontrunner.
Prime Minister Sharif finalised the names of the two generals on Saturday and an official notification was expected shortly.