Gen Bajwa says he will retire in November

Putting months of speculation to rest, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has reiterated his promise to leave office after completing his second three-year term in November, adding that he would fulfil the pledge he made earlier.

The army chief made these remarks at a lunch at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington.

The COAS also stated that the armed forces have distanced themselves from politics and want to stay out of it in the future as well.

“There can be no diplomacy without a strong economy,” said the army chief stressing that restoration of the ailing economy of the country should be the priority of every stakeholder of the society.

After the lunch, Gen Bajwa went to the Pentagon for a meeting with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.

According to the ISPR, Gen Bajwa called on retired General Lloyd James Austin III, Secretary of Defence; Jacob Jeremiah Sullivan, National Security Adviser; and Wendy Ruth Sherman, Deputy Secretary of State.

The army chief arrived in the US on September 30 and met with UN officials in New York.

General Bajwa is heading a delegation that will stay in the US for another couple of days, diplomatic sources said, terming the visit an important one that portrayed “robust relations” between the two countries.