NewsDecember 24 , 2016
Gen Bajwa loves reading, admires Noor Jehan, Viv Richards, Miandad
KARACHI: Pakistan’s new Army chief General Qamar Bajwa has a pleasant personality with varied interests as he has been fond of reading, music and sports. This was revealed by his sons in an interview with a US magazine ‘Newsweek’, published yesterday.
“Every Army chief has had his own legacy or way of doing things,” says his elder son, 27-year-old Saad Bajwa, who is a barrister in Islamabad, “our father believes in the supremacy of the Constitution. He always says he wants the Pakistan [that the] Quaid-e-Azam envisioned, a Pakistan where institutions are more important than individuals.”
Born Nov. 11, 1960, in Karachi, into an Army family, General Bajwa was enlisted in 1978 and commissioned two years later in the 16 Baloch Regiment. The career infantry officer has taken several military training courses and participated in army exercises in Canada and the U.S. He has commanded the Army’s X Corps in Rawalpindi, led the Force Command Northern Areas, and served as commandant of the Army’s School of Infantry and Tactics, Quetta. He was inspector-general for training and evaluation at the Army’s General Headquarters, Rawalpindi, before taking the top post.
General Bajwa assumed office on November 27 in tensions with India, amid almost daily reports of gunfire and shelling between Pakistani and Indian troops across the Line of Control and the Working Boundary that divide Kashmir. As commander of the X Corps and with his past experience in the Northern Areas, General Bajwa is deeply familiar with the situation.
A wider historical perspective informs General Bajwa’s worldview. His library consists almost entirely of books on history, diplomacy, and politics. Both sons describe him as a voracious reader, a well-thumbed book always on his bedside table. “He has a keen interest in European history,” says Saad, “He also reads extensively about India. In fact, last month on his birthday, we gifted him a book each. One was on India, because we knew he would enjoy reading it.”
According to Saad, the reading habit apparently came later in General Bajwa’s life, “We’ve been told he wasn’t the brightest student in school, but he excelled in military academics since his early days in the [Pakistan Military Academy]. He’s always had a tremendous capacity for hard work. And he prefers the ability to work hard over talent alone.”
The general enjoys cricket, both watching and playing it, and he particularly admires Viv Richards and Javed Miandad. He is also fond of Noor Jehan songs. which he has crooned in the past, according to the sons. The one thing he cannot abide, they say, is irresponsibility.
His son says the Army chief’s top responsibility will be to tackle extremism and terrorism.
Courtesy www.thenews.com.pk
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