Passing the Baton
Pakistan has witnessed what may be a seminal event in its youthful history as a nation
Pakistan has witnessed what may be a seminal event in its youthful history as a nation. The Change of Command ceremony for the army chief of staff occurred on Tuesday morning at the GHQ in Rawalpindi. The outgoing General Raheel Sharif had completed his tenure and General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the 16th army chief, has assumed command of the Pakistan army, one of the largest and most battle-hardened fighting forces in the world. Why this might be regarded as seminal is because it was routine, a part of a process, and took place with due protocol and the sense of dignity that the occasion demands.
General Bajwa was the Prime Ministers selection for the job and he has a full agenda as was acknowledged in the address by General Sharif that accompanied the handover. Active issues are the support and protection of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that is gaining relevance and importance almost by the day, taking the heat out of the situation along the Line of Control, corruption and crime generally and the linked items of terrorism and the implementation of the National Action Plan that is in need of revivifying and which would benefit from a fresh and emphatic restatement.
All of the above are ‘carry-overs’ and in that sense General Bajwa is a ‘continuity COAS’ but as with his predecessors once he has taken office he will be putting his own stamp on how the army and he as its leader moves forward. His appointment is good for the army in that it allows movement at the top of the command structure that a three-year cycle serves well. For the civilians the complex and not always easy relationship with the military may — may — have just got a little easier. General Sharif did not seek and was not offered an extension of tenure, an indication of the green shoots of maturity in the political cadre perhaps that is already eyeing the 2018 elections. The most encouraging news for all sides is that the new COAS came into post within the context of a routine set of protocols, and the very ordinariness of the process renders it seminal.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 30th, 2016.
General Bajwa was the Prime Ministers selection for the job and he has a full agenda as was acknowledged in the address by General Sharif that accompanied the handover. Active issues are the support and protection of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that is gaining relevance and importance almost by the day, taking the heat out of the situation along the Line of Control, corruption and crime generally and the linked items of terrorism and the implementation of the National Action Plan that is in need of revivifying and which would benefit from a fresh and emphatic restatement.
All of the above are ‘carry-overs’ and in that sense General Bajwa is a ‘continuity COAS’ but as with his predecessors once he has taken office he will be putting his own stamp on how the army and he as its leader moves forward. His appointment is good for the army in that it allows movement at the top of the command structure that a three-year cycle serves well. For the civilians the complex and not always easy relationship with the military may — may — have just got a little easier. General Sharif did not seek and was not offered an extension of tenure, an indication of the green shoots of maturity in the political cadre perhaps that is already eyeing the 2018 elections. The most encouraging news for all sides is that the new COAS came into post within the context of a routine set of protocols, and the very ordinariness of the process renders it seminal.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 30th, 2016.