Pakistan gets new army chief

Pakistan yesterday appointed General Qamar Javed Bajwa as its new military chief, the prime minister's office said, passing over the army's favourite contenders for arguably the most powerful role in the country.

Bajwa will take over from the hugely popular General Raheel Sharif, who won the hearts of millions with his bruising campaign against Islamic militants.

Pakistan's military plays an outsize role in national life, offering armed reassurance against arch-rival India that many Pakistanis see as vital to their identity.

Bajwa was chosen over the highest ranking contender, the army's Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Zubair Hayat, previously responsible for the security of the country's nuclear programme; and over Lieutenant General Ishfaq Nadeem, commander of the strategic Multan strike corps and viewed by many analysts as favourite for the job.

Bajwa will face challenges ranging from an increasingly hostile India to the conflict in Afghanistan, growing links between homegrown militants and Islamic State jihadists, and blowback from a Trump presidency.

He will also take control of the military's uneasy relationship with the civilian government. The military has been in charge of Pakistan for more than half of its nearly 70-year history.

A senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity that the change of command ceremony would happen in Rawalpindi on November 29.