ISLAMABAD: Newly-promoted Lieutenant General Qamar Javed Bajwa, a highly-experienced soldier, has been appointed Commander 10-Corps (Rawalpindi) at a time when the Line of Control has been buzzing with sounds of gunfire and the situation becoming hotter with each passing day.
Lt Gen Bajwa would succeed Lt Gen Khalid Nawaz as Commander 10-Corps, as Khalid Nawaz would be retiring from the Pakistan Army on August 13.
In another extremely-important appointment, GOC Lahore Maj General Aamir Riaz has been appointed Director-General Military Operations (DGMO) to succeed the newly-promoted Lt Gen Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmed, now awaiting posting. The News had revealed in its issue that appeared on Eid Day i.e. August 9, 2013 that Maj Gen Aamir, GOC Lahore, would be the next DGMO, a focal point of military planning and strategy.
Both appointments are categorised “very important” by the military sources with the appointment of three-star General Bajwa gaining added value because of the increased tension on the LOC with Indians creating a situation and firing intermittently without any provocation.
One of General Bajwa’s friends told The News that Lt Gen Bajwa had served with the present Indian Army chief General Bikram when they were when they were together in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force several years back. Indian Bikran was the GOC or Dy Commander of the Force with Pakistan’s Bajwa the Brigade Commander in the same UN peacekeeping mission.
The present Indian Chief of Army Staff, General Bikram Singh, had also served in Indian Occupied Kashmir and has been in the Military Operations Directorate as director during the Kargil war.
“Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has picked up a right man for the present situation to command the 10-Corps, as the entire LOC comes under the jurisdiction of Rawalpindi Corps,” said a military source, who appreciated the decision of Army chief General Kayani to appoint Lt Gen Bajwa as Commander 10-Corps.
Bajwa had served in the 10-Corps as Chief of Staff and held the position of General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Gilgit-based FCNA. He knows the area, terrain and the enemy or his tactics very well. In the army, he was considered as the most suitable three star general to command the 10-Corps after careful professional analysis carried out by the Chief of Army Staff General Kayani, who is due to retire on November 27 this year.
Following DGMO Maj Gen Ishfaq Nadeem Kayani’s promotion as three star general, GOC Lahore Maj Gen Aamir Riaz has been appointed DGMO and he would be taking over his new highly-important operational appointment shortly because of the war hysteria being created by the Indians. Lt Gen Ishfaq Nadeem is likely to be given a new posting in a few days, though Lt Gen Javed Iqbal of NDU is also awaiting a new posting.
Some sources say that Lt Gen Ishfaq Nadeem would be sent to head a corps, while Javed Iqbal may be appointed either as commandant NDU in place of Lt Gen Nasir Janjua or he would be sent to the GHQ as Inspector General Arms, a position lying vacant for some time.
Another newly-promoted Lt Gen Zamir Ul Hassan would continue serving on his present position as commander Army Air Defence.
Top sources say that army chief General Kayani would take some other important decisions in the coming weeks in the same context, though the army and two other forces are fully ready to meet any challenge coming from across the borders because of the saber-rattling by the Indians without any justification.
