KARACHI: Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa has been named among the world’s most powerful people by Forbes in its ranking for 2018.

The army chief has been ranked the 68th most powerful person in the world on a list that includes 75 personalities, including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau, the Turkish president, North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un, News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch, Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has been named the world’s most powerful person for 2018, while Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump have been ranked second and third, respectively.

“Although the president is his boss on paper, Pakistan’s chief of army staff is de facto the most powerful person in the nuclear armed state,” Forbes wrote about the 57-year-old army chief.

“Javed Bajwa joins the world’s most powerful at a time when the rift between India and Pakistan is improving, partly thanks to his efforts,” the magazine explained.

Forbes, a New York-based bi-weekly, observed that Gen Bajwa had a “difficult task” on his hands of maintaining peace in Pakistan, where militant groups are present “while managing a complex relationship with India”.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2018