General Qamar Javed Bajwa, NI(M), HI(M) the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Pakistan Army since 29 November 2016. General was commissioned in 1980 in the 16th Battalion of the Baloch Regiment (second generation in Pakistan Army). General is graduate of Canadian Forces Command and Staff College, Toronto, Naval Post Graduate University, Monterey (California) USA and National Defense University, Islamabad. Remained instructor at School of Infantry and Tactics Quetta, Command and Staff College Quetta and National Defense University Islamabad. Important staff appointments include, Brigade Major of an Infantry Brigade, Chief of Staff of a Corps. General has extensive command experience which include command of his parent unit, an Infantry Brigade, an Infantry Division and a Corps. At UN Peace Keeping Mission, he commanded a Pakistani Contingent at Congo. He also served as the Inspector General Training and Evaluation at General Headquarter Rawalpindi. He has been honored with the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) and Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military) during August 2011 and December 2016 respectively. In line with National Action Plan, numerous counter terrorism operations including Radd-ul-Fassad and Khyber-4 have been launched under his able command to uproot terrorism. These operations have been very successful and terrorist incidents have drastically reduced in recent years.
In 2018, he was ranked as the 68th most influential person in the world by Forbes magazine, which called him de facto the most powerful person in Pakistan. Born in Gujranwala, General Bajwa was educated at the Sir Syed College and Gordon College in Rawalpindi before joining the Pakistan Military Academy in 1978. He reportedly prefers to keep himself updated about the latest developments within the Indian national landscape. He has condemned extremism in all its manifestations, declaring it a key driving force for terrorism. He urged his fellow citizens especially the youth to fight extremism. He is known as good sportsman who loves to play cricket and promotes sports activities.