Qamar Javed Bajwa

Born in Karachi, Sindh, on 11 November 1960, Bajwa was educated at the F. G. Sir Syed College and Gordon College in Rawalpindi before joining the Pakistan Military Academy in 1978. His family hails from Ghakhar Mandi, Punjab. His father Muhammad Iqbal Bajwa was an officer of Pakistan Army who died while in service in 1967 in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan.[7] Bajwa was seven years old when his father died and he was the youngest of five siblings.[1] He and his siblings were raised by their mother, who died in September 2013.[8] Bajwa's father-in-law, Ijaz Amjad,[9] was also a Pakistan Army officer who retired with a two-star Major-General rank.[10]

Bajwa completed his secondary and intermediate education at F. G. Sir Syed College[11] and Gordon College in Rawalpindi before joining the Pakistan Army in 1978,[1] which directed him to attend the military academy.[12] He was sent to attend the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul and passing out in 1980.[13]

Bajwa is a graduate of the Canadian Army Command and Staff College and the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, United States.[1] He also attended the National Defence University, Islamabad.[1][13][14][15] Bajwa is married to Ayesha. The couple have two sons, Saad and Ali.[1]

After joining the Pakistan Army in 1978,[1] Bajwa who was enrolled at the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in Kakul, passed out with the class of 62nd PMA Long Course[12] and gained commission as 2nd-Lt., on 24 October 1980 in the 16th Baloch Regiment at the Sialkot Cantonment – the same unit that his father commanded.[16][13]

In 1988, Major Bajwa briefly served in the 5th Northern Light Infantry in Azad Kashmir.[17][18] In addition, Lieutenant-Colonel Bajwa served in the X Corps, stationed in Rawalpindi, as a Staff Officer.[17] Upon promotion as one-star rank army general, Brigadier Bajwa served as the Chief of Staff (COS) at the X Corps.[19][20]

In 2003, Brig. Bajwa commanded the Pakistan Armed Forces-Africa Command, attached to the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO, in D. R. Congo.[17][20][12][1] Brig. Bajwa served in the D. R. Congo as a brigade commander under the then-Major General Bikram Singh, the former Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army from 2012–14.[21][22][23] Gen. Singh later termed Bajwa's performance there as "professional and outstanding."[24][21]

After being promoted to the two-star rank in May 2009, Major-General Bajwa took over the command of the Force Command Northern Areas division as its GOC, stationed in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.[25][26][27][28][23][19]

In August 2011, he was honored with the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military),[29] and posted as an instructor at the School of Infantry and Tactics, Quetta,[30] and later taught staff course at Command and Staff College in Quetta, and course on national security at the National Defence University, Islamabad.[13][14]

On 14 August 2013, Maj-Gen. Bajwa was promoted to three-star rank and posted as field commander of the X Corps, stationed in Rawalpindi.[31][32][33] He was appointed as Grade-I officer during his tenure as field commander of the X Corps.[20] The appointment was commented in the news media that noted that Lt-Gen. Bajwa had been posted in X Corps thrice,[20] which is the army's most important and largest corps, which has experience of keeping control over the situation in Kashmir.[23][34]

In 2014, Lt-Gen. Bajwa was appointed as Colonel Commandant of the Baloch Regiment.[35]

On 22 September 2015, Lt-Gen. Bajwa was posted in the General Headquarters when he was appointed as the Inspector-General of the Training and Evaluation (IGT&E). There he was a Principal Staff Officer to the then-Chief of Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif.[36][37]

Bajwa is an avid reader and has keen interest in the history of Europe.[1][18]

He enjoys cricket[1] and used to play cricket as a wicket-keeper.[11]

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa

General Bajwa reportedly prefers to keep himself updated about the latest developments within the Indian national landscape.[18] He is known to have a sound understanding of Indian strategic ambitions in the region and experience of armed conflict on LoC in Kashmir.[18] He is committed to combating extremism, saying it is a key driving force for terrorism. He has urged his fellow citizens, especially the youth, to fight extremism.[60]

In 2018, he was ranked 68th on The World's Most Powerful People list by Forbes magazine, which called him de facto the most powerful person in Pakistan who "established himself as a mediator and proponent of democracy".[61]

• Pakistan Army
• Inter-Services Public Relations
• Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee

• Pakistan Army official website