Changing of the guard

The last week has seen a number of changes in the senior ranks of the army as the new Chief eases into his post

The last week has seen a number of changes in the senior ranks of the army as the new Chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa eases into his post. Whilst there are no real surprises about any of the officers newly posted or about the posts they are to take up there is a sense that a new broom is at work. The new COAS is wasting no time setting his agenda and it is evident that he intends to continue with and extend the agenda of his predecessor. General Bajwa put his cards on the table on Monday 12^th December when he visited the Peshawar Corps Headquarters for a briefing-in-depth on the ongoing security operations as well as how matters will be moved forward in Fata, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Malakand division. All have been the focus of intense army operations in recent years, particularly since the National Action Plan was formulated to counter terror and as a response to the attack on the Army Public School in December 2014.

General Bajwa has spoken of his commitment to breaking the nexus between terrorists and their facilitators, a not-particularly-coded message that he is going to go after the chain that links the terror paradigm from top to bottom. That chain is known to run from the remote fastnesses of the mountains in the north to the sprawling cities of the plains — and Karachi. He acknowledged that army actions had created the space and opportunity to restore and refurbish governance, and that ‘equitable development’ was a necessity across FATA. Perhaps a message to any political listener that may be bending an ear in his direction. Civil government has its part to play if the army is not going to have to run a repeat performance in months and years to come.

There is a new Corps Commander in Karachi, a new Director-General of the Inter-services Intelligence, a new Chief of General Staff and a new Corps Commander in Peshawar along with a slew of other postings. The Guard has changed but many of the historical challenges remain. We wish the new team at the khaki helm every success.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2016.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.