Four major generals promoted to lieutenant generals

ISLAMABAD: Four major generals of Pakistan Army were promoted to the rank of lieutenant generals on Tuesday.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) here, those promoted were Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa, Major General Sadiq Ali, Major General Umer Durrani and Major General Aamer Riaz.
Separately, in a major reshuffling at the command and staff level, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif on Tuesday changed almost half of present nine corps commanders with appointment of new commanders for Rawalpindi, Lahore, Southern Command and Gujranwala Corps.
Already promoted Lt General Malik Zafar Iqbal has been appointed Commander Rawalpindi Corps in place of Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, who has been appointed aPrincipal Staff Officer (PSO) in the General Headquarters as Inspector General Training and Evaluation (IGT&E). Lt Gen Malik Zafar Iqbal was presently serving in the Adjutant General Branch as the DG.
While posting Corps Commander Gujranwala Lt Gen Ghayyur as Chief of Logistics Staff (CLS), the newly-promoted Lt Gen Ikramul Haq has been appointed as Commander Gujranwala Corps.
Four three-star generals, Commander Lahore Corps Navid Zaman, Commander Southern Command Lt Gen Nasir Janjua, IG Arms Lt Gen Ejaz Chaudhry and Chief of Logistics Staff Lt Gen Tariq Gilani would be retiring from the army in early October this year and in their place four major generals were promoted as three-star generals.
Director-General Military Operations Maj Gen Aamir Riaz has been posted out as Commander Southern Command on his promotion as Lieutenant General. His name had appeared in WikiLeaks when the-then American officer sent a cable that Aamir Riaz (then posted as a brigadier in Peshawar) was a difficult person to handle. His successor as the DGMO would be appointed soon, though many new appointments would become effective after Eidul Azha.
On promotion Lt Gen Hilal Hussain has been posted as Commander Army Strategic Forces Command. Hilal had served as DG Rangers, MS to former President Asif Zardari and AMS to former President Pervez Musharraf.
On promotion, Lt Gen Umer Farooq Durrani has been appointed as Commander Mangla Corps and GOC Bahawalpur Maj Gen Sadiq Ali on his promotion as three-star general has been appointed as Commander Lahore Corps. Media guru Maj Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa on his promotion as Lieutenant General will continue serving as the top military spokesperson in his capacity as DG ISPR, though there are chances that he would be posted out to another important position in the coming months.
This will be the third time in the history of Pakistan Army that a three-star general would be heading the ISPR following the precedents of Lt Generals Jahangir Nasrullah and Waheed Arshad.
Muhammad Saleh Zaafir adds: Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa has played a major role in boosting the image of the army.
People coming from various walks of life thronged the ISPR Directorate on Tuesday to felicitate General Bajwa on his promotion.
The general belongs to a distinguished family of Rahim Yar Khan.
Highly-placed defence sources said in any next reshuffle, Bajwa will get a different assignment.
Prior to his appointment as DG ISPR in 2012 by then COAS Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Bajwa was posted in Dera Ismail Khan as general officer commanding (GOC). Under Bajwa’s leadership, the army conducted military operations in the South Waziristan tribal region to eliminate the militancy and restore peace. Prior to that, Bajwa had served as Deputy Military Secretary (DMS) under Pervez Musharraf.