In a first, two Hindu officers promoted to lieutenant colonel rank

ISLAMABAD: In a first, two officers belonging to the Hindu minority community – Dr Kailash Kumar and Dr Anil Kumar – have been promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Pakistan Army, it emerged on Friday.

According to official sources, Maj Dr. Kailash Kumar was born in 1981; he hails from Tharparkar and he got commission in the Pakistan Army in 2008; while Maj Dr. Anil Kumar was born in 1982; he is a resident of Badin and he got commission in the Pak Army in 2007.

According to the local media, Kailash Kumar and Dr Anil Kumar became the first Hindu majors in the Pakistan Army in 2019. Kailash was posted in the Ministry of Defence. During the promotion boards, Kumar's rank was raised from major to lieutenant colonel. He graduated from the Pakistan Military Academy and was assigned to the army's medical corps. Kumar completed his MBBS at LUHMS Jamshoro in Hyderabad and was then commissioned in the Pakistan Army.

He is also the first Hindu officer to be selected for the emergency medicine residency programme at the University Hospital of Birmingham. He also helped civilians (through free medical camps) in remote areas of Pakistan such as Tharparkar, Gilgit-Baltistan and the Hunza valley. He was awarded the Tamaga-e-Dafa (A Siachen Medal) for spending 36 days at the world's highest post in the Baltoro sector near K2, at an elevation of roughly 22,000 feet. He also received Tamga-e-Baqa and Tamga-e-Azam for his efforts in combating terrorism.

Reacting to the development Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC) chief Dr Ramesh Kumar wrote on his official Twitter handle: “Heartiest congratulation to promotion of 2 Hindu Officers to Lt. Colonel Rank.”

Earlier in February, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa had said that monitories in Pakistan are equal citizens and it is the job of the state to protect them, the military had said in a statement.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army chief expressed these remarks during a visit to Nagarparkar, Sindh's Tharparker district, where he spent the day with troops and was also briefed by the local commander on operational readiness of the formation. Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry called Lt Col Kumar "pride" of the country.