General Qamar Javed Bajwa officially took charge as Pakistan's 16th Chief of Army Staff (COAS) on Tuesday. He took over the command of Pakistan’s army from General Raheel Sharif.

Gen Bajwa was considered as a dark horse in the race for the army’s command and superseded four lieutenant generals as he was credited for having valuable experience and in-depth understanding of the military matters in Kashmir from a Pakistan standpoint. Gen Bajwa spent a considerable part of his military service in the Rawalpindi-based 10 Corps, and has been held responsible for escalating ceasefire violations and promoting cross-border terrorism across the Line of Control (LoC) during his command.