ISLAMABAD - Two more major generals have retired from the service and the number of military’s two-star generals who reached the age of superannuation over a week becomes five.
The total number of major generals having retired in the ongoing year now stands at six.
Major General Syed Jamal Shahid and Major General Sajid Iqbal are the two army officers who called it a day at the Pakistan Army on Saturday but their retirements became applicable with effect from Monday due to weekly holidays (Saturday and Sunday), it is learnt. The two officers, the sources said, were 11th and 12th in the seniority list of the two-star generals. They had proceeded on leave preparatory to retirement (LPR) last year after being superseded following the promotions of some of their batch mates. Jamal Shahid and Sajid Iqbal respectively belong to the Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (EME) and Army Services (AS), the two service arms of the military whose officers seldom get three-star general rank. Presently, none of the serving three-star generals is from ASC or EME. Of the seven serving major generals from EME, one is superseded whereas of the five major generals from AS, two are superseded. 
Moreover, the two recently retired officers were promoted to the major general rank in March 2010 along with 26 other brigadiers. Including them, a total of nine major general from this lot were superseded with the denial of promotions to the lieutenant-general rank last year, the sources informed. The remaining seven superseded officers who are to retire this year are Allah Ditta Khan, Inam-ul-Haq, Imran Zafar, Agha Masood, Sohail Ahmed Khan, Imtiaz Sherazi and Nasrullah Dogar. Three of their batch mates Zahid Latif Mirza, Ikram-ul-Haq and Obaidullah Khan Khattak were promoted to lt-gen rank last December. Mirza is presently Commander Army Air Defence Command (AADC), Haq is Inspector General Training and Evaluation (IG T&E), whereas Khattak is Commander Army Strategic Force Command (ASFC).
From this same batch of 26 officers (promoted from brigadier to major general in March 2010), those top five major generals who expect promotions this year in terms of seniority are: Maj Gen Naveed Ahmed, Sector Commander Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Sindh; Maj-Gen Sohail Abbas Zaidi, Deputy DG ISI; Maj-Gen Rizwan Akhtar, DG Sindh Rangers; Maj-Gen Shehzad Sikander, DG Works; and Maj-Gen Mian Hilal Hussain, DG Military Training.
Earlier on February 28, three of the senior most two-star generals retired from the service while fresh postings were assigned to four newly promoted major generals following an important reshuffle at the two-star general level at the Pakistan Army. This development was exclusively reported in The Nation on March 2 in the story titled “ NWA military commander changed.”
The three top generals in the seniority list of the army’s two-star generals who retired, then, were Maj-Gen Ausaf Ali, DG Operations at the Strategic Plans Division (SPD), Maj-Gen Tahir Ashraf, DG Defence Exports Promotion Organisation (DEPO), and Maj-Gen Ghulam Dastagir, DG Organisation and Methods at the General Headquarters (GHQ). Ausaf Ali was the senior most Maj-Gen followed by Tahir Ashraf whereas Ghulam Dastagir was fourth in the army’s seniority list of two-star generals. Following these three retirements, Maj-Gen Khalid Rao, DG Special Communications Organisation (SCO), became the senior most two-star general who was also superseded last year. Previously, he was third in the seniority list. Including Faiz Muhammad Khan Bangash, the number of two-star generals having retired this year becomes six. Retired in January, Bangash was DG Ordnance Services, a position presently held by Maj Gen Tariq Haleem Suri.
Furthermore, a total of thirty brigadiers were promoted last month, of which, five have been assigned postings so far. With the gradual retirements of superseded maj-gens, the postings would be assigned to the remaining newly promoted maj-gens.
Of the newly promoted officers, Maj-Gen Zafarullah Khan has recently been appointed as General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7th Infantry Division Miranshah, North Waziristan Agency (NWA). Maj-Gen Hasnat Amir Gilani is appointed as GOC 1st Armoured Division Multan.
Maj-Gen Amir Abbasi is appointed as GOC 10th Infantry Division Lahore. Maj-Gen Majid Ehsan is deputed as Chief of Staff, Southern Command, Quetta whereas Maj-Gen Farhan Ali was the first newly promoted two-star general to have been assigned a posting last month. He was appointed as Commandant Military College of Signals (MCS) Rawalpindi.