Pakistan's 16th Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, is said to be not only a very proud Muslim and a follower of the Sharia, but unknown to most, seems to have close links with the fundamentalist Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), which is led by 26/11 mastermind Hafeez Saeed.
According to a report published by Roznama Dunya, a venture of Dunya News, Pakistan's leading news and current affairs channel, the JuD appears to have endorsed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's selection of General Bajwa as army chief, describing him as a "religious man" who while simple and humble in approach, possesses the grit of a soldier who can firmly convey Pakistan's message to its immediate neighbours (read India) as well as to the rest of the world.
Recently, Amir Hamza, one of the central leaders of the JuD, which India has held responsible for the November 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai that claimed over 160 lives and left more than 300 others injured through its militant wing, the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), extolled the special qualities and virtues of General Qamar Bajwa, and said that it was to the Pakistan government and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's 's credit that they had selected a simple yet religious man to head the country's all-powerful army.
Globally, the JuD has been widely acknowledged as the front of the militant Lashkar-e-Toiba. On December 11, 2008 the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on the JuD, declaring it a global terrorist group. Hafiz Saeed had then declared that he would challenge the sanctions imposed on his group in all forums, as he has repeatedly maintained that his outfit is only involved in charitable works.
On June 25, 2014, the United States said that several LeT affiliates, including the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Al-Anfal Trust, Tehrik-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool, and Tehrik-e-Tahafuz Qibla Awwal needed to be added to the list of foreign terrorist organisations.
Hamza said, "It is the mercy of Allah that such a noble and humble religious man has become the head of the army."
More From This Section
Hamza further suggests that while General Bajwa may not be the traditional and proverbial in your face Pakistani general insofar as issues with India are concerned, he possesses the ability to send across the right message at the right time.
To substantiate this claim of his, Hamza recalls General Bajwa's recent message to India - "That if the right to self-determination is given to Kashmiris, then there is 'Qamar', i.e. moon light, (and) if not given, then India won't rest in peace."
In the article published in the Roznama Dunya, Hamza, claims that he believes that General Bajwa is a follower of the "Hadith" (a collection of traditions containing sayings of Prophet Mohammad which act as a major source of guidance for Muslims apart from the Koran).
Hamza, in his article, recalls one of the prophet's sayings. The prophet has said should a person commit a sin and his mother is not alive for atonement and forgiveness, that person should go to his maternal aunt, behave well with her, and he will be forgiven by Allah. He (Hamza) says a "pious' General Bajwa did the same thing when he was announced as Pakistan's next army chief. He went first to his mother's grave, raised his hands, prayed and cried, and thereafter, paid a visit to his childless maternal aunt - Safiya Begum - and made her feel that he was her child in the absence of his mother.
"Thus, the General salutes his important relatives after becoming Army Chief," says Hamza in his article.
Emphasizing that General Bajwa is a man who follows protocol, but knows when to keep it aside, Hamza recalls that when the former was formally declared Chief of Army Staff, superseding several of his seniors, he was particular about not making them feel awkward, and categorically told two of them, Lt. Gen. Asfaq Nadeem and Lt. Gen. Javed Iqbal Ramday, that they need not follow protocol and resign, but should continue as Corp Commanders and complete their respective tenures.
Both commanders were told by General Bajwa that life is short and protocol should not be allowed to come in between them.