Will fade into irrelevance, said outgoing military chief General Qamar Javed in his last speech as the chief of army staff at the change of command ceremony at the GHQ in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.

“But, the spiritual connection with the army will always remain,” after quoting the American military leader General Douglas MacArthur who famously said in 1951, “Old soldiers don’t die they just fade away”.

Gen (retd) Qamar served as the army chief for six years during which the army dealt with escalation at the Line of Control (LoC), terrorism in different areas, law and order challenges, and natural disasters.

Indian military planes had violated the LoC, intruding from the Muzaffarabad sector in the second month of 2019. The Pakistan Air Force shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace, one of the aircraft fell inside Azad Jammu and Kashmir while the other fell inside the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. One Indian pilot was arrested by troops.

Moreover, Operation Raddul Fasaad was started with the goal to fight against terrorism and extremism. Pakistan witnessed a downward trend in terrorist attacks till the end of 2020. But, the next year terrorist attacks increased in the country. Many attributed it to the coming of new rulers in Afghanistan—the Taliban.

This year, banned outfits staged terrorist attacks in Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The government was also having backdoor talks with the outlawed group, however, it failed due to unconstitutional demands as said by the-then Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid.

It also affected the law and order situation in metropolitan cities of the country. Chinese doctors were targeted in Karachi. Peace demonstrations were held in many districts of KP against the unrest in which law enforcers were also attacked.

Amidst this, Pakistan was hit with floods triggered by heavy rains. At least 33 million people were displaced due to this and more than 1,700 people were killed. Pakistan Army was called in to assist the government in helping the flood victims.

“The army always responded to my call,” Gen (retd) Bajwa said while speaking about the challenges. “I am proud of my army which despite limited resources guards the geographical boundaries, from ice-caped mountains of Siachen to the deserts of Thar. This army protects the people regardless of language, color, caste, or religion.”

The outgoing military chief added that the armed forces under the leadership of his successor would continue to reach new heights of success.

He praised General Syed Asim Munir, saying that his successor was “a professional, capable and principled” officer. “I am certain that under his leadership the army will reach new heights of success.”

According to Gen (retd) Bajwa, his association with General Asim Munir was 24 years old and he was happy that he was retiring after handing over the command to a capable officer.