Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Derek Joseph ( hy, Դերեկ Ջոզեֆ) (1945–2021) was a Pakistan army officer of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

origin and a veteran of

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 ...

. Joseph joined the Pakistan army in 1969 and later fought in

Indo-Pakistan 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 Decemb ...

, during which he is claimed to have destroyed seven Indian tanks. He was awarded

Tamgha-i-Jurat Tamgha-i-Jurat ( ur, تمغہِ جرأت, , Medal of Courage), is the fourth highest military award of Pakistan. This citation is awarded for extraordinary heroism while engaged in armed combat with an opposing force on Pakistan soil or outside it ...

for his actions during the war. After the war, Joseph chose to be sent on deputation to

United Arab Emirates Armed Forces The United Arab Emirates Armed Forces ( ar, القوات المسلحة لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة, Al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥa li-Dawlat al-ʾImārāt al-ʿArabīyyah al-Muttaḥidah) are the armed forces of the Unit ...

where he served for three years before returning to Pakistan. He retired in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Personal life

Joseph was born on 13 November 1945 in

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followin ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. His brother, Dennis Joseph, a retired professor at

Edwardes College Edwardes College Peshawar is a semi-government degree The college's undergraduate and graduate degree programs lead to the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), 4 year BS Programme in English and Computer Science, Master of Bus ...

, says that their family came from

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and stayed in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

and Nangarhar before moving to British India following the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan. Joseph's family arrived in

, capital of then

(now known as

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

), in 1890 and have remained there ever since. Derek Joseph's father, Dr. Paul Joseph, was a general surgeon at the Mission Hospital in Peshawar and his mother used to teach English at various colleges.

Military career

Joseph was commissioned into the Pakistan Army on 20 April 1969 and later fought in Indo-Pakistan war of 1971. During the war he destroyed seven Indian tanks and was awarded Tamgha-i-Jurat for his valour.

Possibility of becoming a General

Colonel Joseph's friend, Retd Brigadier Muhammad Saad, said that considering Colonel Joseph's abilities, it was clear that he would reach the rank of General, but instead of going to the Command and Staff College in Quetta, Colonel Joseph left Pakistan and joined the

Death

Derek Joseph died on 29 July 2021 in his birthplace,

. He was found dead in his home after his brother arrived at the home to do a

welfare check Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

because he didn't answer his phone call. He was buried with full military honors in a military graveyard. A number of retired Pakistani military personnel and civil servants described Joseph as brave soldier and expressed their grief over the death of Joseph.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Derek 1945 births 2021 deaths Armenian diaspora in Asia Pakistan Army officers Pakistani people of Armenian descent Pakistani military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Pakistani Christians People from Peshawar

Personal life

Military career

Possibility of becoming a General

Death

See also

References