Qamar Javed Bajwa

Qamar Javed Bajwa is a Pakistani four-star general who served as the tenth chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan. He held this position from 29 November 2016 until 29 November 2022.

Early life and education

Bajwa was born in Karachi, Sindh, on 11 November 1960. His family hails from Ghakhar Mandi in Punjab, though he was raised in a Punjabi Jat family of the Bajwa clan. He attended F. G. Sir Syed College and Gordon College in Rawalpindi to complete his secondary and intermediate education. In 1978, he joined the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul.

He passed out from the academy in 1980 as part of the 62nd PMA Long Course. Bajwa later became a graduate of the Canadian Army Command and Staff College. He also attended the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and the National Defence University in Islamabad.

Career

On 24 October 1980, Bajwa received his commission as a second lieutenant in the 16th Battalion of the Baloch Regiment at the Sialkot Cantonment. He briefly served in the 5th Northern Light Infantry in Azad Kashmir during 1988. His career included several roles within the X Corps in Rawalpindi, where he served as a staff officer and later as chief of staff.

In 2003, he commanded the Pakistan Armed Forces-Africa Command while attached to the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO in D. R. Congo. During this period, he served as a brigade commander under Major General Bikram Singh. Following his promotion to two-star general in May 2009, he took command of the Force Command Northern Areas division in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Bajwa was promoted to three-star rank on 14 August 2013 and became the field commander of the X Corps. He served as the Inspector-General of Training and Evaluation at the General Headquarters from September 2015 to November 2016. On 29 November 2016, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced his appointment as the Chief of Army Staff. This appointment superseded two generals who held higher seniority.

During his six-year tenure, Bajwa oversaw nationwide counter-terrorism operations such as 'Radd-ul-Fasaad' in February 2017 and 'Khyber-4' in July 2017. His leadership coincided with increased military involvement in political affairs. Critics argued that the army assisted in the removals of Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan, which led to economic stagnation.

In November 2022, a leak of tax details led to accusations of corruption against him. The leaked data reported that his family amassed over Rs. 12.7 billion in wealth between 2016 and 2022. This amount was equivalent to US$230 million in 2021.

Personal life

Bajwa is the youngest of five siblings. His father, Muhammad Iqbal Bajwa, was an officer in the Pakistan Army who died in service in 1967 while stationed in Quetta. His mother raised the children until her death in September 2013. His father-in-law is the retired Major General Ijaz Amjad.

Awards and recognition

Bajwa was honored with the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) in August 2011. He also received the Nishan-e-Imtiaz in December 2016. In 2018, Forbes magazine ranked him 68th on its list of the World's Most Powerful People.