Pak Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa shakes up ISI

Islamabad: New Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa announced a reshuffle in the Army on Monday and appointed Lieutenant General Naveed Mukhtar as the Director-General of Inter Services Intelligence. He will succeed Lt. General Rizwan Akhtar.

General Naveed Mukhtar was appointed DG ISI after approval from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Both Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa see General Naveed Mukhtar as a richly experienced, top military officer, who can handle the ISI operations, both overt and covert in a way to serve on the first line of Pakistan’s defence.

Lt Gen Akhtar was at the centre of a controversy following a Dawn report which said that the Nawaz Sharif government had told the Army to either act against terrorists or the country would face international isolation.

Former DG Rangers Sindh Lt. General Bilal Akbar has been appointed as the Chief of General Staff (CGS) and former DG ISI Lt General Rizwan Akhtar Baig as the President of National Defence University.

Both Lt. General Bilal Akbar and Lt. General Naveed Mukhtar were serving in Karachi as DG Rangers and Corps Commander, Karachi, respectively.

Lt. General Asim Saleem Bajwa has been appointed as the Inspector General Arms and Lt. General Hidayatur Rehman as the Inspector General of Training and Evaluation at the general headquarters.

Major General Muhammad Saeed has been posted as DG Rangers, Sindh.

Army Chief Bajwa appointed the new CGS, a key position lying vacant since the elevation of General Zubair Hayat as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

Now, he would be serving as the eyes and ears for the services chiefs as well as the Prime Minister.

With two three-star Generals —former Corps Commander Multan Lt. General Ishfaq Nadim Ahmed and former Corps Commander Bahawalpur Lt. General Javed Ramday — retiring from Pakistan Army on December 17, General Bajwa has brought in a new team.

In place of retiring Lt. General Javed Ramday, Lt. General Sher Afgun has been appointed as Corps Commander Bahawalpur.

General Mukhtar possesses a vast experience in the field of intelligence and has headed the counter-terrorism wing of the spy agency in Islamabad.

He was commissioned in the Armoured Corps regiment in 1983.

A graduate of the Command and Staff College, Quetta, National Defence University, Islamabad, and War Course, USA, General Mukhtar has also commanded the Mechanised Division.