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Pakistan's Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, shown above, has been named army chief of staff, effectively head of the country's military. PHOTO:ASSOCIATED PRESS
By
SAEED SHAH
Nov. 26, 2016 2:05 p.m. ET
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Pakistan’s government appointed a new army chief of staff on Saturday, a boost for democracy in the coup-prone nation and the first smooth transition for the top military job in 20 years.
Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa was named to succeed Gen. Raheel Sharif, who became the first head of the army since 1996 to make way for his successor after completing a standard three-year term.
With the appointment, however, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif passed over the army’s firm favorite for the job, Gen. Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmed, who had been groomed for the top position by being appointed to key jobs previously. The prime minister also passed over others in when he choose Gen. Sharif.
Although there has long been an underlying competition between the government and the military over the exercise of power in the country, the two appear, nonetheless, to be finding ways of working together.
Pakistan saw its first civilian transfer of power in 2013, when one elected government succeeded another after completing its term, bringing Mr. Sharif to office for a third time. He is no relation of the army chief stepping down.
Now, with this smooth transition for the top military post, Pakistan is moving toward becoming a more “normal” country, ministers say.
Prime Minister Sharif has now anointed six army chiefs of staff during his years in power. And choosing whom to head the military has been an agonizing and carefully calculated process for him, as some of his selections have turned on him. In the 1990s, both Mr. Sharif’s terms as prime minister were cut short by army chiefs he had appointed, with one forcing him to resign and another, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, staging a coup and taking power in 1999.
Both Gen. Bajwa and Gen. Sharif were plucked from the relatively obscure post of head of training and evaluation for the army. Gen. Sharif turned out to be a strong head of the army, even overshadowing the prime minister. He conducted counterterrorism operations that made him popular with a public traumatized from attacks by the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups. And attacks by extremists have decreased sharply over the past two years.
But Gen. Sharif also forged a dominant role in foreign policy, putting a brake on the prime minister’s efforts to make peace with traditional foe India.
ENLARGE
Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, shown earlier this month, on Saturday appointed Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa as the country's army chief of staff over four others including the military's preferred candidate. PHOTO:ASSOCIATED PRESS
“There will be a continuation of policies. I don’t think there is any change required in the policies in place,” Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said. “The traditions Gen. Raheel [Sharif] has put in place will be further strengthened under the new leadership.”
Analysts said that with his latest choice, Prime Minister Sharif sought out the man least likely to stage a takeover. “None of Nawaz Sharif’s army chiefs were appointed for the right reason, for being the best person for the job,” said Shaukat Qadir, a retired brigadier.
Mr. Qadir, however, conceded that Gen. Sharif turned out to be an excellent choice. “From the feedback I’ve had on Gen. Bajwa, he is perhaps the most likely to follow in Gen. Raheel Sharif’s chosen path.”
Analysts said the five generals in contention for the chief’s job this time around had good professional reputations. Gen. Bajwa is said to be a “soldier’s soldier,” and previously held the important position of commander of the corps at Rawalpindi.
Gen. Ahmed, the army’s favorite, was seen as the architect of a largely successful operation launched in North Waziristan in 2014 to route out al Qaeda and Taliban militants there. That operation is continuing.
‘There will be a continuation of policies. I don’t think there is any change required in the policies in place.’
—Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif
Yet, Gen. Ahmed is regarded as a blunt-talker, a quality unlikely to have endeared him with the premier, Mr. Sharif. “The prime minister will be surprised that Qamar Bajwa will be no less blunt once in the job,” said Ikram Sehgal, a security analyst. “Once a man gets into the seat of power, he changes character, he takes on the character of the army.”
Democracy was restored to Pakistan in 2008, after Mr. Musharraf‘s period of military rule. Since then, the army appears to have worked out that it can get its way without launching coups.
Still, two years ago, at the height of protests led by opposition politician Imran Khan,some generals in the army plotted to oust the government, according to ministers. Gen. Sharif ultimately decided against a takeover, but the experience left the government scarred. The army denies political interference.
“Despite a lot of dark shadows, democracy is managing to survive in Pakistan,” said Hasan Askari Rizvi, an expert on the Pakistan army. “That’s partly because the army now protects its interests from the sidelines. It is no longer interested in assuming power.”
Although Prime Minister Sharif enjoys a majority in Parliament, he is being hounded by the opposition over corruption allegations, which currently stand before the Supreme Court. He denies any wrongdoing.
—Qasim Nauman in Islamabad contributed to this article.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/pakista...smooth-transition-1480187126?tesla=y&mod=e2tw
