Pakistan on Monday extended the tenure of the army chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, for three years as tensions soar with India and amidst plans for direct talks between the Afghan Taliban and the US.

“Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa is appointed Chief of Army Staff for another term of three years from the date of completion of current tenure. The decision has been taken in view of the regional security environment,” said a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s office with Imran Khan’s signature on the document.

Bajwa’s extension was widely expected in view of the “good understanding” Khan had developed with the army chief over the last one year.

This is the second time in less than a decade that a civilian government extended the tenure of an incumbent army chief. The Pakistan People’s Party government had extended the tenure of Gen. Ashfaq Kayani who had succeeded former President Pervez Musharraf.

Kayani had handed over the command of the army to Gen. Raheel Sharif, who became very popular across Pakistan for his straight forwardness and punishing offensives that he ordered in the country’s tribal areas against homegrown militants.

Bajwa gets the extension at a time when chances of a “local conflict” loom large between India and Pakistan.

Even on Monday, the deputy high commissioner of India was again summoned to the foreign office and a strong protest was lodged over fresh ceasefire violations in Kashmir which killed two people, including a child, on Sunday.

Senior defence analyst Gen. Talat Masood said the country was passing through extraordinary circumstances, which needed continuity of policies and command, specially on the issues of Kashmir and Afghanistan.

Gen. Bajwa not only has a good understanding with Khan but also knows the regional security issues and operational preparedness of his troops. “The extension was imperative to ensure a level of continuity especially when the country is passing through critical times,” Gen. Masood added.

Commenting on the extension given to the army chief, Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that it was essential because of the regional situation.

Having served as corps commander of Rawalpindi, Gen. Bajwa has vast experience of dealing with issues related to Kashmir and the Line of Control, The Express Tribune reported.

In a country prone to frequent military coups, the army generals who enforced many years of martial law in Pakistan since independence in 1947 have held power for nearly as long as the civilians.

He has also strengthened the military’s grip over the government, including the judiciary and areas of security policy.

In one of his statements on Kashmir, he said the reality of Kashmir was neither changed by an “illegal piece of paper” in 1947 nor by any action “now or in future”.

“There can never be a compromise on Kashmir,” Gen. Bajwa said in his Independence Day message on August 14.

“Reality of Kashmir was neither changed by an illegal piece of paper in 1947 nor will any other do it now or in future,” he said, apparently referring to Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to India and rejecting India’s recent revocation of the special status for Jammu and Kashmir.