Another extension for General Bajwa in office at this juncture looks unlikely at this juncture, observes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
These promotions will allow General Bajwa to shuffle the deck on the top, but this is likely to be a limited reshuffle, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Pakistan Army has mocked India after the country's resounding victory in the Champions Trophy cricket final, sharing photos of celebrations.
Asim Malik's shift to the important DG, ISI post comes as something of a surprise now, but it indicates the army chief's confidence in him, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
'Five months after the elections in February 2024, the Pakistan army has not been able to break Imran Khan's resolve and break his political party.'
Lieutenant General Faiz Hamid will take to his new command as duck to water, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Senior general refuses to retire, reveals Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Ananlysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
There were reports of lobbying within the Pakistan army for the ISI DG's post, which falls vacant in June, reveals Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
The government feels that it is not the right time for the release of Pakistani prisoners, official sources said. The retaliatory action came as India made it clear that it will be regarded as "premeditated murder" if Pakistan carries out the death sentence "without observing basic norms of law and justice".
Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, who has been replaced as ISI chief, will remain in the forefront of Pakistani initiatives in Afghanistan as also in the peace talks with the Tehrik e Taliban, Pakistan. He will also get a year plus to serve in a corps command, remaining in the race for selection as the next army chief when General Bajwa retires in November 2022, explains Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing.
'During my tenure as PM, two Indian prime ministers visited Pakistan. Modi sahab and Vajpayee sahab had come to Lahore'
Significantly, these 12 officers would form a major part of the team that the new army chief will inherit, observes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W, India's external intelligence agency.
Diplomatic sources in Islamabad said that Gen Bajwa was accompanied by the Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed.
Though Bajwa met Saudi Arabia's Deputy Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Saudi Arabia's military chief of staff General Fayyad bin Hamid Al-Ruwaili, he failed to meet the crown prince.
'A six month extension, if not extended further, would make General Bajwa a lame duck chief, altering the balance of his equations with the senior peer group of lieutenant generals,' says Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
'With the extension issue settled clearly in his favour, Gen Bajwa would be free to fashion a more hardline policy against India. 'We could, therefore, expect a raising of the ante in Kashmir,' says Rana Banerji.
'From what evidence has come up, General Bajwa somehow managed to tell the Americans that I was anti-American.' 'And so, it [the plan to oust me] wasn't imported from there. It was exported from here to there.'
Citing details of the contract from the American Federal Procurement Data System, the BBC report claimed that Pakistan signed two contracts with American companies named "Global Military" and "Northrop Grumman" for the sale of 155mm shells.
Cricketer-turned politician Sidhu had courted controversy by hugging Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa during his visit to Pakistan for the swearing-in of Imran Khan as prime minister.
If Imran Khan delays his assent to General Bajwa's recommendations any further, it could imply he is taking stock of possible serious dissent within Pakistan's top army echelons, says Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan Desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
'What we are today witnessing is the final act of the Pakistani army trying to retain its turf,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Military spokesman Major General Babar Iftikhar made the remarks while speaking to a private TV channel in the wake of rejection of a no-confidence motion and subsequent dissolution of the National Assembly (NA) by President Arif Alvi on advice of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Keeping trusted men in key positions at Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar has become vital for Bajwa, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
In a surprise military shake-up, the Pakistan Army on Wednesday announced that the powerful spy agency ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed has been appointed as Peshawar Corps Commander -- a crucial position in view of the Taliban's takeover of neighbouring Afghanistan.
If General Asim Munir, Pakistan's new army chief, wants to help defuse the current polarised atmosphere and shepherd civilian politicians towards negotiations on an acceptable date for elections, he may need to distance himself from any perception of needless hostility to Imran Khan, explains Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W, India's external intelligence agency.
General Bajwa, unlike many of his predecessors, believes the Pakistan army's long-term interests lie in reducing tensions with India, reports Ajai Shukla.
With its new army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa set to take charge, Pakistan has asserted that focus will remain on country's eastern border with India, even as the US nudged Islamabad to keep the pledge of not allowing use of its soil for terror attacks against neighbours.
The timing of these transfers, while being projected as routine, is significant in both strategic and political terms, asserts Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
The ISI was taking no chances and wanted no repeat of Pulwama; it wanted to make it clear at a political level it was not involved with the revenge attack being planned, but was only giving India a friendly tip-off. A stunning excerpt from Ambassador Ajay Bisaria's Anger Management: The Troubled Diplomatic Relationship between India and Pakistan.
Lt Gen Abbas -- commissioned in 1987 by Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in the 41 Baloch Regiment -- has formerly served as the personal secretary to the chief of former army chief Gen Raheel Sharif.
Managing the senior generals has proven to be quite a headache for General Asim Munir, even as he and his team of loyal henchmen labour hard to dispel the sense of unhappiness among the public about the army's overbearing presence and interference in matters 'civilian', notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
No prime minister in Pakistan's recent history has survived long in office after appointing an ISI chief who did not have the army chief's confidence. Imran may be no exception, observes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing.
General Bajwa and the outgoing DG, ISI Lieutenant General Naveed Mukhtar, had a long meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday, says Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan Desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
He is only the agent that can bring them that change for they are quite aware that he has articulated no vision on how to set Pakistan back on the rails, notes Lieutenant General Gautam Moorthy (retd).
General Qamar Bajwa, his colleagues say, is a firm opponent of extremism and terrorism. He may prove even more forceful in the fight against terrorism than his predecessor, who is credited with launching Operation Zarb-i-Azb, which helped lower the frequency of terrorist attacks.
Usually, the army chief sends three names for the coveted slot and the prime minister has the authority to pick any one of them, the report added.
The US and others have long complained that Pakistan provides safe haven to the Afghan Taliban and their allies, the Haqqani network.
as journalists active in Pakistani media have been quick to point out, with Ghafoor at the helm in Balochistan, no one will take seriously any claims by the civilian leadership to use the velvet glove to work for peace there, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.He did not hesitate to pejorate developments in India at the slightest opportunity, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Pakistan's Punjab police have booked former prime minister Imran Khan and 1,500 of his party workers for attacking and setting on fire a top army officer's house in Lahore.
Sidhu urged Swaraj to help initiate dialogue with Pakistan on the opening up of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.
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