Introduction

General Qamar Javed Bajwa NI(M), HI(M) is a retired Pakistan army general who served as the tenth Chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan from 29 November 2016 to 29 November 2022. In 2018 he was ranked 68th in the Forbes list of the

Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa

Professional Achievements

General Qamar Javed Bajwa NI(M), HI(M) is a retired Pakistan army general who served as the tenth Chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan from 29 November 2016 to 29 November 2022. In 2018 he was ranked 68th in the Forbes list of the World's Most Powerful People.
 
Hailing from Ghakhar Mandi, District Gujranwala General Qamar Javed Bajwa was born in Karachi on 11th November 1960. His father Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Iqbal Bajwa was an officer of Pakistan Army who died while in service in 1967 in Quetta, Balochistan. His father-in-law was also a Pakistan Army officer who retired as a Major General.

He completed his secondary and intermediate education from F. G. Sir Syed College and Gordon College in Rawalpindi before joining Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul in 62nd Long Course. General Qamar Javed Bajwa is also a graduate of Canadian Army Command and Staff College in Canada, Naval Postgraduate School in United States and National Defence University, Pakistan.

General Qamar Javed Bajwa was enrolled in the Pakistan Army in 1978 and was commissioned on 24 October 1980 in 16 Baloch Regiment, the same unit that his late father commanded in 1960s. He briefly served in 5th Northern Light Infantry Regiment in Kashmir in 1992 as major. As Lieutenant Colonel, he served in the X Corps which is stationed in Rawalpindi, where he was general staff officer.

As a brigadier, Qamar Javed Bajwa served as Chief of Staff at X Corps and has also commanded a division in Northern Areas as formation commander. He has also commanded a brigade in United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo in 2007. He served in Congo as a brigade commander in 2007 under former Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army Bikram Singh, who was serving there as a division commander. Gen Singh later termed Bajwa's performance there as professional and outstanding.

In May 2009, he was promoted to the rank of Major General. As a Major General, Qamar Bajwa served as the Force Commander of Gilgit-Baltistan and held the title of the General Officer Commanding. In August 2011, he was awarded Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military). Qamar Javed Bajwa has also been an instructor at School of Infantry and Tactics in Quetta, at Command and Staff College in Quetta and at National Defence University, Pakistan.

Major General, Qamar Javed Bajwa was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General in August 2013 and was appointed as Corps Commander X Corps shortly after. He was Grade-I officer during his tenure as Corps Commander X Corps. In 2014, he was appointed as Colonel Commandant of Baloch Regiment. In September 2015, he was appointed as the Inspector General of the Training and Evaluation at the GHQ where he was a Principal Staff Officer to then Chief of Army Staff Raheel Sharif.

Since General Qamar Javed Bajwa has been posted in X Corps thrice, which is the army's important and largest corps, he has good experience of handling Kashmir affairs. He belongs to the infantry's 16 Baloch Regiment and 62nd Pakistan Military Academy Long Course. General Qamar Javed Bajwa has sound understanding of Indian strategic ambitions in the region and experience of armed conflict on Line of Contrl (LoC) in Kashmir. In December 2016, he was awarded Nishan-e-Imtiaz.

General Qamar Javed Bajwa is considered to be a genuine military man with no interest in politics and the one who remains well-connected with the junior officers and troops, and does not seek attention and protocol.

He is an avid reader and have keen interest in History of Europe and India. He also enjoys cricket.