Tag: Qamar Javed Bajwa

  • President Alvi to discuss ‘game of audio and videos leaks’ with COAS Munir

    President Alvi to discuss ‘game of audio and videos leaks’ with COAS Munir

    President Dr Arif Alvi has said that he had made it a point to discuss the “game of audio and videos leaks” with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir.

    “I am surprised why this is going on. It should not continue in any sense of morality,” said Dr Alvi during a wide-ranging conversation with journalists, leaders of business community and foreign diplomats at a dinner on Saturday.

    Alvi revealed that former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa and his team helped Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the Senate and during the elections as well.

    The president that Khan had no thought of sacking Gen (retd) Bajwa, stating, “No, I don’t think so. That was a rumour.”

    The president said that we should let go of the past and forgive people for the mistakes they had committed earlier, so a new beginning could take place.

    “Let’s make a country that we deserve,” the President said. He rued that institutions had not played their role, even the judiciary, pointing out that the courts had given verdicts allowing a dictator to change the constitution. He referred to the Reko Diq case in which Pakistan had to pay a fine of $7 billion.

    “If you criticise the judiciary, it will reduce the efficacy of the entire judiciary. If you criticise the army, it becomes a matter of disrepute and we don’t want that,” the president said. He, however, added that this principle was often stretched and applied to every situation, due to which one could not say anything against them.

    Discussing Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s response to India, Dr Alvi remarked that the minister had done the right thing. He said the world and the global order was based on vested interests. “A good reply was given by Bilawal sahib,” he stated.

  • ‘General Faiz made Suleman Shahbaz flee from Pakistan’: Journalist Suhail Waraich

    ‘General Faiz made Suleman Shahbaz flee from Pakistan’: Journalist Suhail Waraich

    Senior journalist Suhail Warraich has claimed that Suleman Shehbaz, son of Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, was sent out of Pakistan with the help of former Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence (DG-ISI), General Faiz Hameed.

    In a candid conversation with journalist Fahad Shehbaz Khan, Warraich said that the former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa was a good man, who did not make jail particularly tough for anyone, whether it was former President Asif Ali Zardari or Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo, Nawaz Sharif.

    Warraich further revealed that Gen Bajwa was never in favour of keeping these people in jail for long periods or of giving them pain when they were in prison. “Former PM Imran Khan wanted to give pain to the Opposition when they were in jail; he [Gen Bajwa] couldn’t do much but really helped everyone,” Suhail Warraich said.

    Fahad said that audio recordings of Hamza Shehbaz, Shehbaz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif during National Accountability Bureau (NAB) custody, were sent to General Faiz.

    Warraich elaborated that General Bajwa wanted to maintain his soft image. “He is one COAS who dealt with two governments and survived as well. He did not want anything to happen to Nawaz Sharif while he was in jail and hence he sent him to London.”

    The veteran journalist also confirmed that Shehbaz Sharif and General Bajwa were always on very cordial terms with each other.

  • ‘Gen Bajwa apkay mohsin thay, aap mohsinkush niklay’: PM Shehbaz to Imran Khan

    ‘Gen Bajwa apkay mohsin thay, aap mohsinkush niklay’: PM Shehbaz to Imran Khan

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa was Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s benefactor, but the former Premier betrayed him.

    “General Bajwa was your benefactor; you have betrayed him,” said PM Shehbaz to Khan while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.

    In reply to a question about the former army chief, Shehbaz Sharif said that since General Bajwa has hung up his boots, he should be allowed to live in peace.

    PM Shehbaz on Daily Mail:

    The prime minister said that Khan and his “minions” were “heartless” when they got involved with Daily Mail.

    “They thought that if this damages Pakistan’s reputation, it won’t matter. They wanted to embarrass the Sharif family no matter what,” the prime minister said.

    “This isn’t just an apology to me, this is an apology to the 220 million people and the mothers and daughters who were affected in the floods,” he said about the apology issued to him by the British newspaper.

    The prime minister also noted that Daily Mail published the apology to him in one million printed copies last Sunday. “This is Daily Mail’s timeline. This was a huge conspiracy against Pakistan, but it was Allah’s mercy that it was proven wrong,” he said.

    “I do not use the word ‘fraud’, but this is what Imran did”: Shehbaz Sharif

    The Prime Minister then talked about the Toshakhana scandal, stating that Imran sold the one-of-a-kind watch that Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman had gifted to him.

    “Imran made a cheap move by selling the watch that contained the image of Holy Kaaba,” Shehbaz Sharif said, adding that nobody can deny that the watch was not sold after the evidence that has come to light.

    “I do not use the word ‘fraud’, but that is what Imran did. The shop owner — whose receipts that PTI showed — has also clarified that it is not his handwriting on the receipt,” PM Shehbaz pointed out.

    Khan’s treatment with other politicians

    Berating PTI further, PM Shehbaz said that the former rulering party tried to malign Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, his family, and his party by levelling baseless allegations against them.

  • Asad Qaiser says giving extension to Gen (r) Bajwa was ‘mistake’

    Asad Qaiser says giving extension to Gen (r) Bajwa was ‘mistake’

    Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Asad Qaiser, has said that the then-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s decision to extend the tenure of ex-chief of army staff (COAS) retired General Qamar Javed Bajwa in 2019 was “wrong”.

    When asked about background discussions leading to the extension, Qaiser responded: “It was the wrong decision, no matter why or how it was taken.”

    While making a candid admission that they [PTI] “regret the mistake”, Qaiser said, “Everyone [in the party ranks] is realising that it was a mistake to grant him (Bajwa) an extension.

    Gen (r) Bajwa was appointed as the army chief by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in November 2016. In 2019, then-premier Imran Khan approved an extension in his tenure as COAS for another term — just three months before he was due to retire.

  • ‘Gen (r) Bajwa asked us to support PTI during no-confidence motion’: Moonis Elahi

    ‘Gen (r) Bajwa asked us to support PTI during no-confidence motion’: Moonis Elahi

    Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Moonis Elahi has revealed that former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa had advised his party to back Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) when the no-confidence motion was moved against former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

    Elahi further revealed that both PTI and Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had made offers to PML-Q. However, Gen (retd) Bajwa asked them to support the Imran Khan-led party. “I had an inclination towards PTI, and everyone knows about it. So I discussed it with my father. And then my father said to side with [PTI]. If Bajwa was so bad, why did he ask us to side with PTI at such a crucial junction,” he asked during an interview with Meher Bokhari.

    Moonis then criticized the social media campaign against General Bajwa, stating that, “Certain elements are busy on social media bashing Bajwa sahib without any reason. This is the same Bajwa who changed the course of rivers for the PTI. Back then he [Bajwa] was right, but now he is not. I have a total disagreement with those who are now talking against him.”

    “When he was giving you all-out support, he was right,” the PML-Q leader said, wondering if Bajwa how had the retired military head now become a “traitor” to them.

    Moonis said that there was no doubt that the former COAS fully supported PTI, but when he withdrew his support, he had become a bad person. “This is a bad example and I have a disagreement with them on it. He [Bajwa] was never against the PTI.”

    “Had he [Bajwa] been against them [PTI] at that juncture, he just had to give a signal, and we would have been sitting with them [PDM],” Moonis said.

    The PML-Q leader said when the establishment says that they have nothing to do with politics, he believes that because they have not influenced the Punjab government.

  • Four obstacles that could have blocked Gen Munir’s appointment as COAS

    Four obstacles that could have blocked Gen Munir’s appointment as COAS

    Pakistan’s new Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir was given command of the armed forces on November 29 in a ceremony in Rawalpindi.

    In the weeks leading up to the announcement of the new COAS’ name, speculation had been rife as to who among the top 6 senior most Lieutenant Generals would get the coveted spot.

    Kamran Shahid, senior journalist and anchor, while speaking about Asim Munir’s selection on his talk show, “On the front with Kamran Shahid”, revealed that many hindrances dotted the path that eventually led to his selection.

    Imran Khan proposed extension for Bajwa:

    Shahid said on his show that to stop General Asim Munir from becoming the new army chief, “a proposal to extend the then army chief General Bajwa’s tenure was given.” The journalist further revealed that this proposed extension was suggested by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

    Martial law was an option:

    “I am telling this to you with a lot of responsibility that there were chances of a martial law being imposed in the country,” revealed Shahid. He further said that this idea was rejected in the Corp Commander’s meeting.

    Now-retired General thought of going to court to challenge his appointment

    The third obstacle to stop General Asim Munir from becoming the COAS was that a “now retired General” thought of going to court over the matter. The problem with this idea was that the Supreme Court can only listen to an aggrieved party. So keeping in view the law and order situation in the army, the now retired General thought of not pursuing the matter further.

    Govt was told to appoint Sahir Shamshad

    The federal government was told to appoint Lieutenant General (Lt-Gen) Sahir Shamshad Mirza, the now Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), as the new army chief. However, Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif was not in favour of the suggestion, hence General Asim Munir became the new army chief, Kamran Shahid said.

  • ‘Decision to become apolitical led to personal criticism’; Gen Bajwa addresses backlash in rare interview

    ‘Decision to become apolitical led to personal criticism’; Gen Bajwa addresses backlash in rare interview

    The outgoing Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Qamar Javed Bajwa, has addressed the backlash he and his institute have faced in recent months in a rare interview.

    Talking to the United Arab Emirates based Gulf News, General Bajwa said that the army’s decision to become apolitical is “being viewed as negative by a segment of society and led to personal criticism”. However, he doubled down on the decision, emphasizing that restricting the armed forces to it’s mandated constitutional role will, “facilitate in reinvigorating and strengthening democratic culture, assist in supporting state organs to effectively perform and deliver. Above all, this decision will help enhance army’s prestige in the long term.”

    General Bajwa, who has less than two days left in his tenure, stated that he felt it prudent to “shield Pakistan Army from the vagaries of politics in Pakistan,” adding that public support for the institution goes down when the military is seen to be involved in political affairs.

    Without naming either Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) or its Chairman Imran Khan, who has criticized the army for becoming “neutral,” General Bajwa again talked about the “undue vilification” of the army. “Despite some criticism and undue vilification of the armed forces through mass propaganda and meticulously crafted false narratives, the institutional resolve to remain apolitical will remain steadfast,” he told Gulf News.

    Talking about Pakistan’s relations with Middle Eastern countries, the COAS predicted that the country will have a “robust and broad-based” relationship with Arab nations.

    The army chief also discussed the challenges that Pakistan faces, citing it’s “delicate position” in balancing it’s relationships with both all-weather friend China and the West. General Bajwa also cited the western border with Afghanistan as “volatile” but added that the violence has reduced after US withdrawal and provided a “modicum of stability”.

    However the COAS also mentioned “economic frailty” as a major challenge, remarking that it tends to “exacerbate other issues concerning human security such as health, education, access to food and clean water, and mitigating threats posed by climate change.”

    At the end, the Chief gave out a message to the country’s youth. “The youth must also ensure that they are shielded from divisive propaganda and information warfare that seeks to polarise our society and erode mutual trust. Pakistan should always come first — before any other marker of identity,” he remarked.

  • Court sends Azam Swati on two-day physical remand for tweeting against senior military officials

    Court sends Azam Swati on two-day physical remand for tweeting against senior military officials

    Senator Azam Khan Swati of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was sent on a two-day physical remand in another case regarding controversial tweets after being arrested early Sunday morning.

    Swati was detained by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for the second time after a new case was registered against him for making controversial tweets against General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Major General Naseer.

    The FIA had requested Swati’s physical remand for eight days. Swati was taken into custody from his farmhouse located in Chak Shahzad, Islamabad.

    Reacting to the arrest of the senator, PTI Chairman Imran Khan tweeted that he was “shocked”.

    “I am shocked and appalled at how rapidly we are descending into not just a banana republic but a fascist state. How can anyone not understand the pain and suffering Senator Swati underwent with custodial torture and blackmailing video of him and his conservative wife sent to his family?” asked Khan on his party lawmaker’s arrest.

    Khan said that Swati’s “justifiable anger and frustration at the injustice meted out to him especially the doors of Supreme Court remaining closed to him despite over a fortnight of appeals by senators in support of him”.

    “So he tweets and is arrested again. Everyone must raise their voice against this state fascism,” said the PTI chief.

    Swati hurled cuss words at outgoing Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and used offensive language against Major General Faisal Naseer.

    The PTI senator called out the name of Major General Naseer and threatened him that he would have to pay the price.

    “I will go against Major General Naseer at every platform. I will use every legal and moral forum against him,” Swati said in a social media post.

    Last month, FIA took Swati into custody from his home in Islamabad and presented him before a court after he tweeted against General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    The senator has been granted bail in the case against surety bonds worth Rs1 million.

  • Who will be the new COAS and CJCSC?

    Who will be the new COAS and CJCSC?

    Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Asim Munir has been promoted to now become the new chief of the Pakistan Army by Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif. A summary in this regard has been sent to the President. This has been confirmed by Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb in a tweet.

    Who is Asim Munir?

    PM Shehbaz Sharif has picked Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Asim Munir to succeed outgoing army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa. Lt-Gen Munir is the senior-most among the names given in the summary. He was promoted to the rank of a three-star general in September 2018.

    Lt- Gen Munir entered the service via the Officers Training School (OTS) programme in Mangla, and was commissioned into the Frontier Force Regiment. He has been a close aide of the incumbent COAS ever since he commanded troops in the Force Command Northern Areas as a brigadier under Gen Bajwa.

    He was later appointed Director General Military Intelligence in early 2017, and in October next year was made the ISI chief. However, he was replaced soon by Lt Gen Faiz Hameed within eight months, reportedly on the insistence of the then PM, Imran Khan. He was posted as Gujranwala Corps commander for two years, before being moved to the GHQ as Quartermaster General.

    Who is Sahir Shamshad Mirza?

    The following is a bio of the new Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, the second important role in the armed forces. While General Mirza’s bio is impressive, what was striking is that he was raised an orphan and has managed to reach the top. When he joined the army, he wrote ‘8 Sindh’ in the ‘Next of Kin’ option. It was the name of his Unit.

    The premier has picked Lieutenant General (Lt-Gen) Sahir Shamshad Mirza to be the next Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC). Lt-Gen Mirza came to fame as the director general military operations during Gen Raheel Sharif’s tenure. In that role, he was part of Sharif’s core team at the General Headquarters, which supervised the military operation against the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and other militants in North Waziristan. Moreover, Lt-Gen Mirza was closely involved in the intra-Afghan talks involving Pakistan, China, Afghanistan and the United States.

    He was also a member of the committee on reforms for Gilgit-Baltistan. He was appointed chief of general staff, effectively making him the second-most powerful person in the army after the chief of army staff. In that role, he was closely engaged in crucial decision-making related to national security and foreign affairs. He also joined former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in strategic talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in 2021.

    In October 2021, he was posted as corps commander Rawalpindi to enable him to acquire operational experience and become eligible to be considered for top posts. The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee is an inter-services forum that works for coordination among the three armed forces. The CJCSC also serves as the principal military adviser to the prime minister and the National Command Authority.

    General Asim Munir has been ‘retained’ under the Army Act?

    The Federal Government has retained Lieutenant General Asim Munir under the Army Act. Earlier, government decided to appoint Lt Gen Munir as new Chief of Army Staff (COAS).

    Gen Munir was scheduled to retire on November 27. He had submitted his retirement application to the defence ministry. However, the defence ministry did not accept the request for retirement and decided to retain Gen Munir.

    Meeting between Dr Alvi and Khan

    President of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi, has reached Zaman Park in Lahore to meet Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan to consult him over the two key military appointments that were announced today.

    In an interview earlier this week, when asked about the appointment, Imran Khan said that he was maintaining contact with the President on this matter.

    President House will give an official handout around 7pm on army chief appointment

    PTI’s Fawad Chaudhry has said that the President House will give an official handout between 6:30 and 7pm about Dr Arif Alvi’s meeting with his party Chairman Imran Khan.

    A few hours ago, Alvi reached Lahore to meet Khan and to consult him over the two key military appointments.

    Earlier, the federal government announced that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has appointed Lieutenant General Asim Munir as Pakistan’s next Chief of Army Staff and Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), with an official summary of both appointments sent to President Alvi for his signature.

    President Arif Alvi signs summary for the appointment of COAS and CJCSC: report

    President Dr Arif Alvi has signed the summary to appoint Lt Gen Asim Munir as the new army chief and Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza to be the next Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC). It is being reported that President Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be holding meetings with both new appointees shortly.

  • Bye bye Bajwa: PM gets names of next army chief nomination, decision awaited

    Bye bye Bajwa: PM gets names of next army chief nomination, decision awaited

    The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has confirmed on Wednesday that it has finally received the summary from the Ministry of Defence with a list of names of the candidates for the appointment of the new chief of army staff (COAS) and the chairman joint chief of staff committee (CJCSC).

    “Prime Minister [Shehbaz Sharif] will take a decision on the appointments as per the laid down procedure,” the brief statement read.

    Military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a statement confirming the development late last night.

    “GHQ has forwarded the summary for selection of CJCSC and COAS, containing names of 6 senior most Lt Gens, to MoD,” said the ISPR in its tweet.

    It is believed that the six men currently in the running to be the next chief of army staff are (in order of seniority) Lt Gen Asim Munir (currently Quarter Master General), Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza (Commander 10 Corps), Lt Gen Azhar Abbas (Chief of General Staff), Lt Gen Nauman Mehmood (NDU Presi­dent), Lt Gen Faiz Hamid (Commander Baha­walpur Corps), and Lt Gen Mohammad Aamer (Com­mander Gujranwala Corps).

    Khawaja Asif, Minister for Defence, said Monday that the notification for the appointment of the next chief of army staff (COAS) would be issued by November 26 before the end of the tenure of the outgoing chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa – who retires on November 29.

    The summary itself and the delay in its dispatch from GHQ has been the subject of much speculation as General Bajwa’s retirement date looms near.