Pakistan’s prime minister has named his choice for the next head of the country’s army after weeks of uncertainty, and just days before the position falls vacant. A spokesman for Nawaz Sharif said the new chief of army staff would be Qamar Javed Bajwa, a lieutenant general currently in charge of military training. The prime minister also selected a more senior general, Zubair Hayat, as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee. Some Pakistanis demanded that his term in office be extended but Sharif always insisted he would step down as scheduled after three years – the first army chief in two decades to do so. In addition to managing tensions with India, Bajwa is likely to continue his predecessor’s policy of fighting domestic jihadi groups, particularly the Pakistani Taliban.

Source: The Guardian November 26, 2016 14:46 UTC