Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Ashraf Rashid ( Punjabi, ur, ) (23 May 1948 – 2 October 2004) was a

two-star general An officer of two-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-7. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, two-star officers hold the rank ...

in the Pakistan Army and the colonel commandant of the

Special Service Group , colors = Maroon, sky blue , colors_label = Colours , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = , ...

division within the Pakistan Army from October 1995 to September 1999. A career army special forces officer, he was responsible for conducting paramilitary operations and infiltrating Kashmiri militants on the Indian side of the Line of Control, which subsequently led to the

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...

. He resigned from his post in September 1999 following the intense pressure on Pakistan from international community to withdraw its military forces from Kargil.

Military career

Ashraf Rashid joined the Pakistan Army in 1964 and had participated in Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 as a Junior non-commissioned officer (JNCO). Rashid entered the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy ( ur, ), also referred to by its acronym PMA. PMA is an officers training school located near Kakul village in the city and district of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa established in 1947. It is the sole service academy ...

in 1966. He graduated two years later and joined the Pakistan Army at the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

. He was selected for the SSG unit, and was sent to the United States to the U.S. Special Forces training school to complete his training. Rashid graduated from the

Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perma ...

, Kansas. He served in the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...

and participated in the conflict as a captain, during which he was permanently injured on the right cheek. As a special service officer, Rashid was promoted as a Brigadier-General and was later sent to

Siachen The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier A glac ...

where he along with then- Brigadier-General

Parvez Musharraf General (Pakistan), General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and General (Pakistan), four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after t ...

, participated in the conflict. In 1995, he was promoted to

and was made

commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of his unit. He was instrumental in conducting paramilitary operations and infiltrating Kashmiri militants in the

. He resigned from his position and left the special forces as the failure of Kargil operation which he was widely blamed for. Before becoming Commander of the

Special Service Group , colors = Maroon, sky blue , colors_label = Colours , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = , ...

commando division, Rashid was Director General of Military Operations, succeeding

Jehangir Karamat General Jehangir Karamat ( ur, ; born 20 February 1941) best known as JK, is a senior Pakistan Army officer who served as the 6th Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan), Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army, from 12 January 1996 to 6 October 1998. ...

, who became Chief of Army Staff.

Kargil War and resignation

As head of the

Special Service Group , colors = Maroon, sky blue , colors_label = Colours , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = , ...

, the special operations division, Rashid helped Kashmiri militants infiltrate the Indian side of the line of control in the Kargil district of Kashmir, where his division conducted covert operations. Only Rashid, then army chief of staff

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...

and two other generals knew about the operation. The event marked the beginning of the

, which ended with defeat and eventual withdrawal of the Pakistan Army from their occupied positions in Kargil. After being pressured by the US. Rashid's role in initiating the conflict and increased political pressure led to his resignation in September 1999.

Death

General Rashid died of a heart attack in his home in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

, on 2 October 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rashid, Ashraf 1948 births 2004 deaths Military personnel from Lahore Punjabi people Pakistani Sunni Muslims Pakistani generals Special Services Group officers People of the Kargil War Non-U.S. alumni of the Command and General Staff College

Military career

Kargil War and resignation

Death

See also

References