[9] During his tenure, military interference in Pakistan's political apparatus reached a new high, despite Bajwa's claims of remaining apolitical.

[17] Bajwa is a graduate of the Canadian Army Command and Staff College and the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, United States.

[40][41] In 2016, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Raheel Sharif dismissed rumours he was seeking an extension of his term.

[42] Initially, the race for the appointment for the COAS was rumoured as between Zubair Hayat and Javed Ramday, who was close to the Sharif family.

[43][44] However, prime minister Nawaz Sharif announced the appointment of Hayat, the-then senior most army general, as the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

[46][47][48][49][50] His strong pro-democracy stance and views may have influenced his appointment as the army chief as noted by media pundits.

[52] Journalist Zahid Hussain, citing Khawaja Asif, said Bajwa was appointed as COAS due to advice from his father-in-law, Maj-Gen (retd) Ijaz Amjad to prime minister Sharif.

[72] Rana Sanaullah claimed that the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) was promised governments in federation and provinces as well as the removal of Imran Khan in exchange for vote for Bajwa’s extension.

[79][80] Recounts were conducted in a total of 94[81][82] constituencies by the Election Commission, after which Khan's PTI emerged as the largest party in the National Assembly, winning 115 seats.

"[84] In the waning days of his tenure, details of Bajwa and his family's tax and assets documents were leaked to the press by journalist Ahmad Noorani on his blog FactFocus, alleging an increase of nearly Rs.

[85] Bajwa's daughter-in-law became a Pakistani billionaire a few days before being wed to his son, largely through receiving property in the army-run Defense Housing Authority (DHA), while Bajwa's wife became a multi-billionaire through his tenure as army chief, and she was repeatedly warned by Pakistan's tax bureau the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for concealing assets.

[86] The report has also alleged that the father-in-law of Bajwa's son has similarly amassed wealth, both in Pakistan and abroad, throughout his tenure as army chief.

[86] Bajwa reacted to the report by denying involvement in the affairs of his family members, and by inviting the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to interrogate them if any discrepancies are found in their asset documents.

[99] Following the announcement of the government's investigations, Noorani claimed that the government of Pakistan, in particular the finance minister Ishaq Dar (who had labeled the data mentioned in the article an "illegal and unwarranted leakage"[7][8]) had essentially authenticated Noorani's tax leaks by acknowledging the data as a "leak".

"[101] Syed Hassan Askari was tried and imprisoned under Court martial proceedings for writing a letter opposing the extension of Bajwas' term.

He was convicted and sentenced to five years of imprisonment following an FGCM trial, although neither he nor his family members have received a copy of the charges or verdict, despite repeated requests.

[103] Azam Swati, a legislator of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party claimed to have been stripped and tortured in state custody after his remarks on twitter on Bajwa's alleged assets beyond means.

She claime members of the military's Public Relations division began threatening Sharif after he emerged as a critic of Bajwa following the success of the vote-of-no-confidence against Imran Khan, particularly in a program calledWoh Kon Tha, aired on ARY News, in which Sharif insinuated Bajwa had a hand in overthrowing his democratically elected Prime Minister.

[108] According to the Hindustan Times, citing Israel Hayom, it was claimed in 2021 Zulfi Bukhari traveled to Ben Gurion airport and then Tel Aviv and "conveyed a message" from Imran Khan and Gen Bajwa "to then Israeli spy chief Yossi Cohen," the article claiming it to be the result of “heavy pressure from the UAE”.

[110] A second version of the doctrine was discussed with journalists in March 2018, stressing democracy, ensuring proper respect of the institutions of the state, eliminating terrorism, bringing terrorists into the mainstream, and viewing the devolution provisions of the eighteenth amendment with scepticism.

The blackout started after an off the record meeting with journalists in which Bajwa threatened Geo TV with consequences if it did not tow the line of military.

He also said that national security was not the preserve of the armed forces and that "unless our own house is in order, nothing good could be expected from outside," and that "It is time to bury the past and move forward.

Journalist Nasim Zehra supported these claims, stating Bajwa sought Modi's visit after accepting the new status of Kashmir.