ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has appointed Lieutenant General Qammar Javed Bajwa as the new Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of Pakistan.
Lt. General Zubair Hayat has been appointed as the new Chairman Joint Chief of Staff.
General Bajwa will replace the outgoing Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif during a change of guard ceremony on November 29.
The decision was made after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned from a visit to Turkmenistan.
A notification announcing the appointments is expected soon.
Lt General Qamar Javed Bajwa
Lieutenant General Qamar Javed Bajwa is the current Inspector General Training and Development GHQ. General Raheel Sharif, before becoming the COAS, served on this post.
Lt. General Bajwa has also commanded Corp 10 – the biggest and considered the most important Corp. He has served as chief of Force Command Northern Areas and also commanded as Brigadier while commanding a peace mission to Congo. Belonging to Baloch regiment, his vast experience is in Kashmir and northern areas issues.
Lt. Gen. Zubair Mahmood Hayat
Lieutenant General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, graduated from Command and Staff College Camberley, United Kingdom, and National Defence University, Islamabad. The general served on key posts throughout his career.
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.
He was later appointed as the director general (DG) of the Strategic Plans Division in December 2013. The division, formed in 2001, is vital to research for and development of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, and it works as the secretariat of National Command Authority.
After this crucial responsibility, Lt. Gen. Zubair Hayat was appointed as Chief of General Staff (CGS), which many see as the most important position after the army chief.
Hayat hails from a military family. His father retired from Pakistan Army as a major general.
One of Gen. Zubair’s brother, Lt. Gen. Umar Hayat, is serving as chairman of Pakistan Ordinance Factory Wah Cantt.
