Daily Times

I have discussed in great detail in my previous column that it is a great honour to get a chance to lead the Pakistan Army. It is an equally uphill task to fight the challenges that one has to face after getting the command of the largest army in the Islamic World. The Chief of Army Staff has a close eye on both internal and external security keeping in view the strategic location of Pakistan. The command of the Islamic world’s largest army is with Gen Qamar Javed for the last six years, who has rightly proved his abilities to lead both his troops and officers. Pakistan and the region have seen many major developments during these six years and there is a dire need to highlight the role of Gen Bajwa that he has played to serve the homeland. It is the basic obligation of writers like us to talk about the services of Gen Bajwa as the commander of the Pakistan Army. There are many hidden challenges that an army chief faces, but he doesn’t talk about them due to the sensitivity of his post. Therefore, writers, columnists and media persons must talk about those challenges for our future generations and history.

Hailing from the Baloch Regiment, Gen Bajwa was commissioned in the Pak Army in 1978. He got the command of Islamic World’s largest army on November 29, 2016. He is the 10th army chief of Pakistan, who is heading a sacred mission. Right after getting the command of the Pak Army, Gen Bajwa launched operation Rad-ul-Fasad to crush the monster of terrorism from the homeland. Successful operations were carried out across the country while chasing both the terrorists and their facilitators. Gen Bajwa completed the mission of his predecessor Gen Raheel Sharif to uproot the menace of terrorism in Pakistan. It was just due to the operation Rad ul Fasad that CPEC was launched in Pakistan at full pace. Pakistan was made a peaceful country from Gawadar to Karachi as a result of this Rad ul Fasad. The operation was meant to chase both the terrorists and their facilitators based on intelligence information.

Operation Rad ul Fasad was meant to chase the terrorists and their facilitators based on intelligence information.

The tenure of Gen Bajwa as COAS will always be remembered as the golden period. During this time, the whole world including Pakistan was badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of COVID-19 centres were established by the Pakistan Army to help the civil administration. We saw the troops of the Pakistan Army helping our people during this hard time of deadly virus. The role of the Pak Army was also commendable in the Command and Control Centre established to deal with the COVID-19 situation. It was just due to the vision of Gen Bajwa that America had to leave Afghanistan in a hurry and empty-handed. Gen Bajwa smartly played the cards of Pakistan in Afghanistan that Washington had to rely on Islamabad to get a safe exit from Kabul. We can rightly say that Gen Bajwa was the man who made America realise the importance of Pakistan in the region.

The Kashmir issue was highlighted with full pace during the tenure of Gen Bajwa and everyone is now aware of the issue. The whole nation got united on the Kashmir cause during this time and all credit goes to Gen Bajwa. How can we forget the masterstroke of the Kartarpur Corridor that helped Pakistan in many ways? It was indeed a miracle that happened in Pakistan during the tenure of Gen Bajwa as army chief. It helped Pakistan in getting sympathies from the Sikh community worldwide and it was also a setback for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We saw that a referendum was held by the Sikh community living worldwide in which they demanded to have a separate country for themselves instead of living with India. The year 2019 is also afresh in our memories as when India attacked Pakistan in the darkness of night but our forces were awakened and they replied to the enemy in a befitting manner. It was just due to the prompt action of our forces, under the directions of Gen Bajwa, that India was humiliated in that whole episode and Pakistan showed its grace by releasing an Indian pilot captured by us.

It is not an easy task to command the Pak Army as it is one of the toughest jobs in the world. Provision of security to hold the general elections, a revival of cricket in the country and spending Eid festivals with the troops on the front, Gen Bajwa efficiently did all this and therefore the whole world is praising him. It is just due to the military diplomacy of Gen Bajwa that Saudi Arabia and UAE agreed to give financial aid to Pakistan during the testing time. Gen Bajwa is the first army chief of Pakistan who was given prestigious awards by six friendly countries in acknowledgement of his services. The President of UAE Sheikh Muhammad Bin Zayed gave the Order of Union Medal to Gen Bajwa. The Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Sulman awarded the King Abdul Aziz Medal of Excellence to Gen Bajwa. Similarly, he got Bahrain Order Award by the Crown Prince of Bahrain in 2021. Gen Bajwa also got the Order of Military Merit in 2019 from Jordan’s Shah Abdullah II. He also got an award from the Russian ambassador in 2018 while Turkey presented him with the award in 2017 in honour of his services. These awards and medals are sufficient to tell about the excellence of Gen Bajwa as the commander of the Pak Army.

The writer is an old Aitchisonian who believes in freedom of expression, a freelance columnist, entrepreneur and social activist.