General Qamar Bajwa takes over as Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff

Islamabad/New Delhi: On a day when Pak-sponsored terrorists attacked an Army camp in Nagrota near Jammu, General Qamar Bajwa, Tuesday, took over Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (COAS).

Outgoing Army chief General Raheel Sharif handed over the baton to General Bajwa at a ceremony held at the General Headquarters(GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

Addressing the gathering, General Sharif stressed the need for all institution of the Pakistani establishment to work together “against external threats.”

Dawn News quoted the outgoing Army chief as saying that India's aggressive tactics in the past months have kept the area under pressure of looming violence.

"...but India should know that taking our policy of patience as weakness would be dangerous," he was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani government has asserted that there will be no immediate change in India's military policy.

"The military policy will continue and there will be no immediate change in it (under Bajwa)," Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told Geo News, yesterday.

"The focus will remain on country's eastern border and the armed forces backed by the nation will meet all challenges," he said.

"The legacy of General Raheel Sharif would continue in the light of the examples he set," Asif said.

The Defence Minister expressed hope that the government and military leadership will continue to work together for the betterment of the country.

According to Pakistani media and experts, General Bajwa's "pro-democracy credentials" and his low-profile influenced Sharif to appoint him to the powerful post of army chief superseding four top generals.

The military has been in charge of the country for more than half of Pakistan's nearly 70-year history since independence.