Hail and farewell.

NEVER in Pakistan's history has there been so much speculation swirling around the appointment of a non-elected public official as there has been over the COAS-ship.

On Nov 30, 2022, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, after serving 44 years in the Pakistan Army, will become just another retiree, shorn of the immense power he currently wields. He might like to recall the observation made by Gen Norman Schwarzkopf (of Operation Desert Storm fame) on his retirement: 'Yesterday, I commanded over 500,000 soldiers; today, I cannot get a plumber to come to the house.'

Gen Bajwa may not be as helpless in retirement as Gen Schwarzkopf claimed to be. He would though share his belief that 'to be an effective leader, you have to have a manipulative streak'.'

Gen Bajwa was appointed COAS on Nov 29, 2016, by the prime minister Nawaz Sharif. He was fourth in seniority. In the general elections of July 2018, it was alleged that Bajwa's intervention brought the PTI leader Imran Khan to power.

History may have a different view of Gen Bajwa's stewardship.

In 2019, Imran Khan sought to...