Pakistan picks new army chief

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday appointed General Qamar Javed Bajwa as new chief of the country's powerful army.

General Bajwa will receive the traditional baton of command from outgoing army chief General Raheel Sharif at a ceremony at army headquarters in Rawalpindi next week, according to an announcement from the prime minister’s office.

The premier also appointed General Zubair Mahmood Hayat as new head of the joint chiefs of staff committee, replacing General Rashid Mahmood.

General Hayat was the senior most among the five generals shortlisted by the defense ministry to fill the two key posts while General Bajwa, who is currently serving as the army's inspector general of and evaluation, was number four.
Outgoing army chief General Sharif had been serving in the same post when called to head the military three years ago.

General Bajwa is a graduate of the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College, the U.S. Naval Post Graduate University and National Defence University, Islamabad.