Pakistan’s first female three-star general likely in Oct
Shakil Shaikh
ISLAMABAD: Major General Shahida Badsha is in the run to become the first woman to earn the rank of a three-star general in Pakistan when five lieutenant generals retire in October this year.
Maj Gen Badshah is the most senior among two-star generals and currently posted at the Army Medical College. Surgeon General Lt Gen Rehan Burney, along with four other three-star generals, is due to retire in October. The others include Commander Southern Command Lt Gen Javed Zia, chairman Pakistan Ordnance Factories Lt. Gen Shujaat Zamir Dar, military secretary in the General Headquarters (GHQ) Lt. Gen Mohsin Kamal and Commander Army Strategic Force Lt Gen Jamil Haider.
“The process has already started to promote at least 5 major generals to the next rank of lieutenant general,” said a military source, confirming that five 3-star generals would retire next month.
Among others DG NLC Maj Gen Junaid Rehmat tops the seniority list of 2-star generals. He faced the brunt of opposition leader Ch Nisar Ali Khan and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and retrieved the NLC by facing PAC and other inquiries.
Vice Chief of General Staff Maj Gen Naseer Janjua, who has served as DMO and commanded a division in Swat, is second in the seniority list. GOC Lahore Maj Gen Asim Arif comes next while GOC Sargodha Maj Gen Tariq Gilani, working in the strategic force, is 4th in the seniority list.
GOC Sialkot Maj Gen Rafiq Sabir is No 5, followed by reinstated DG Rangers Sindh Maj Gen Ijaz Chaudhary. Commandant National Defence University (NDU) is 7th while Maj Gen Raza Mohammad, currently posted at the ISI, is 8th in the seniority list.
Source: The News
Date:9/12/2011