ISLAMABAD: According to reports, Lieutenant General Qamar Javed Bajwa has been appointed Chief of Army Staff (COAS).
Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Zubair Mahmood Hayat has been appointed Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJSC).
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.
