ISLAMABAD - As many as 30 brigadiers were elevated to the rank of two-star general as the Army Promotion Board met here at the General Headquarters (GHQ) on Tuesday on the second and final day of a top-level military commanders meeting.
The promoted officers include nine from Infantry, five each from Artillery and Army Medical Corps (AMC), three from Armoured Corps (AC), two from Signals and one each from Army Air Defence Command (AADC), Signals, Corps of Military Intelligence (CMI), Ordnance, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (EME) and Army Aviation Command (AAC).
These promotions were recommended by the Army Promotion Board on the concluding day of the two-day 169th Corps Commanders Conference chaired by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif, who is said to have approved the promotions for 30 brigadiers with immediate effect, following which, the GHQ has reportedly notified the promotions.
Earlier on Monday, operational, strategic and security issues were discussed in the first day of the commanders meeting.
A statement from Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, the officers recommended for promotion to the rank of major general include Brig Syed Hasnat Amir Gilani (AC), Brig Azhar Saleh Abbasi (AC), Brig Abdullah Dogar (AC), Brig Abid Mumtaz (Artillery), Brig Syed Qaiser Abbas Shah (Artillery), Brig Shahid Mahmood (Artillery), Brig Asif Ali (Artillery), Brig Muhammad Abdul Aziz (Artillery), Brig Hamood uz Zaman Khan (AADC), Brig Jamil Masud (Engineers), Brig Moazzam Ejaz (Engineers), Brig Ali Farhan (Signals), Brig Shahzad Naeem Khan (Infantry), Brig Majid Ehsan (Infantry), Brig Aamir Abbasi (Infantry), Brig Zafar ul Haq (Infantry), Brig Azhar Naveed Hayat Khan (Infantry), Brig Zafarullah Khan (Infantry), Brig Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah (Infantry), Brig Fida Hussain Malik (Infantry), Brig Muhammad Ihsanullah (Infantry), Brig Mohammad Khalil Dar (AAC), Brig Tariq Qaddus (CMI), Brig Shahzad Malik (Ordnance), Brig Shahzad Naeem Qureshi (EME), Brig Khalid Hussain Asad (AMC), Brig Najam us Saqib (AMC), Brig Iftikhar Hussain (AMC), Brig Parvez Ahmed (AMC) and Brig Saleem Jehangir (AMC).
Informed sources said, Hasnat Amir Gilani was the senior-most brigadier of Pakistan Army whose promotion was due since last year. He is the younger brother of Lieutenant General Tariq Nadeem Gilani, the Chief of Logistics Staff (CLS).
In the year 2013, the sources said, Hasnat Gilani was 30th on the seniority list whereas 29 brigadiers were promoted and his case was deferred till this year's Army Promotion Board's meeting. Apart from seniority factor, Hasnat Gilani is also reported to have topped the Pakistan Army's officers efficiency index (OEI) by acquiring maximum marks, the insiders informed this correspondent Tuesday. Prior to promotion, he was performing duties as Chief of Staff to Corps Commander Bhawalpur, the sources mentioned.
The newly promoted officers would be assigned postings against the vacancies that are to fall vacant with the retirement of certain superseded two-star generals, the sources further informed.
As many as 29 brigadiers were promoted in March 2013, 19 in July 2012, 19 in August 2011 and 29 brigadiers were promoted in March 2010. All these promotions were made under the command of the then COAS Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.