Pakistan appoints expert on Kashmir as chief of army
NEW DELHI: With unabating tension along the border, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday appointed Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, who prefers to maintain a low profile, as the country’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS). Bajwa, who has extensive experience in handling affairs in PoK, will replace Gen Raheel Sharif, who is set to retire on Tuesday.
As a major general, Bajwa led the Force Command Northern Areas and served in the 10 Corps as lieutenant colonel. He also served with a UN mission in Congo as a brigade commander alongside former Indian army chief Gen Bikram Singh, who was there as a division commander.
Meanwhile, fuelling discord between the neighbouring countries, Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Friday that three Indian soldiers would be slain for every Pakistani one killed by Indian forces. Claiming that the Indian government was intensifying the situation along the LoC to garner support in the upcoming general elections, Asif also alleged that India was behind terrorism in Pakistan.
“We have sent dossiers and video films to the UN and other countries showing Indian involvement in terrorism,” Asif said. He also accused India of creating hurdles in the way of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), saying that once it was complete, Islamabad would grow economically stronger than New Delhi.
However, Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said Pakistan was “pleading” with India. “Day before yesterday, we got a call from them (Pakistan) pleading with us to stop the retaliation,” he said late on Friday. “We told them we don’t mind stopping as we are not interested in it, provided they too stop... (and) for the last two days, the firing has stopped from across the border,” the Defence Minister added.