Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Wednesday said the training of junior leaders was extremely important because of their critical role in modern warfare, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). The army chief visited the Junior Leaders Academy in Shinkiari where he was given a detailed briefing by the commandant. The academy is a premium army institution which imparts training on basic professional skills and leadership traits to junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) of Pakistan’s armed forces as well as from a number of friendly countries. On the directives of the COAS, the academy is being upgraded as ‘Centre of Excellence for the Junior Military Leadership’ with enhanced capacity and facilities. General Bajwa also interacted with the faculty and was pleased to see young officers from FATA and Malakand as instructors, said the ISPR press release. Inspector General Training and Evaluation Lieutenant General Hidayat Ur Rehman and Commander Rawalpindi Corps Lieutenant General Nadeem Raza were also present during the visit. Published in Daily Times, May 24th 2018.