Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Muhammad Masood Aslam, HI, HI(M), SJ, afwc, psc, (born September 1, 1952, at

Jhelum Jhelum ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city on the east bank of the Jhelum River, which is located in the district of Jhelum in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 44th largest city of Pakistan by population. Jhelum is known for p ...

) is a retired three-star rank

general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

who served almost 40 years in the Pakistan Army. He was the principal commander of the

XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to: * 11th Army Corps (France) * XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

and he commanded the unified chain of command fighting the pro-

Tehrik-e-Taliban The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bor ...

forces in the North-West Pakistan from 2007 to 2010, specifically servicing as the Colonel Commandant of Punjab Regiment from 2008 to 2010. Masood directed and oversaw the major operations against the militants, including

First Battle of Swat The First Battle of Swat, also known as Operation Rah-e-Haq, was fought between Pakistan and the Tehrik-i-Taliban in late 2007 over control of the Swat District of Pakistan. The battle began on 25 October 2007 and involved the Pakistani Army ...

, operations ''Zalzala'', ''Sherdil'', ''Rah-e-Rast'' and the ''Rah-e-Nijat''. />

Initial education

Lt Gen Masood Aslam was born in Mujahidabad,

in the northern

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

. He got his early education from Presentation Convent High School, Jhelum and Government High School, Jhelum. By the year 1965, he joined

Cadet College Hasan Abdal Cadet College, Hasan Abdal (CCH) Urdu/Pashto :کیدت کالج/کیڈٹ کالج حسن ابدال is a residential secondary school located in Hasan Abdal, Attock District, Punjab, Pakistan. The college has over 500 enrolled students aged 13 ...

and did his intermediate in pre engineering in 1970 with honours from the same college. However, instead of pursuing career in

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

, he decided to serve as an Army officer and joined 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 1970.

Personal life

On 4 December 2009 Hashim Masood Aslam, a student of the

College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering The College of Electrical & Mechanical Engineering (CEME) ( ur, ) is a constituent college of the National University of Sciences and Technology, located in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The campus is on the main Peshawar Road, near the M-2 motorwa ...

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

and the only son of Lt. Gen. Masood Aslam, was a victim of the 2009 Parade Lane Mosque terrorist attack during

Friday prayer In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according ...

Army career

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

He was commissioned in the 4th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment (known as Beasi) on 14 November 1971 in the 47th PMA Long Course as his course was shortened due to East Pakistan crisis of 1971. Within a few weeks of commissioning, he was seriously wounded fighting in the front lines at

Chumb Chhamb ( pa, ), also known as Iftikharabad ( pa, ), named after Iftikhar Khan Janjua is an area in the southern tip of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. The Chhamb sector consists of many villages, Kherowal, Burejal, Nagial, Paur, Dingawali, Chak Pandit ...

-Jaurian sector. He was awarded

Imtiazi Sanad Imtiazi Sanad ( ur, امتیازی سناد) is the fifth-highest Pakistani military award for gallantry or distinguished service in combat. It can be conferred upon any member of the Pakistani Armed Forces or Civil Armed Forces who is mentioned in ...

(mentioned in despatches) and the 'Golden wound stripe' for his efforts and gallantry.

Military training

He was among the pioneer officers who established the computer branch at the GHQ in early 1970s. He is a graduate of Command and Staff College,

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

, armed forces war course (Afwc), and holds a master's degree in War Studies from the National Defence College, Qaid e Azam University

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

. He has also attended overseas courses including

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

peacekeeping course from Sweden and a Security Studies course from

Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies The Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI APCSS) is a U.S. Department of Defense institute that officially opened Sept. 4, 1995, in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Center addresses regional and global security issues, inviting militar ...

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

1987-2003 Siachen Conflict

He served at

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 in the K ...

for more than a year in the early days of

Siachen conflict The Siachen conflict, sometimes referred to as the Siachen Glacier conflict or the Siachen War, was a military conflict between India and Pakistan over the disputed Siachen Glacier region in Kashmir. The conflict was started in 1984 by India' ...

with India. He established military posts at Siachen and served at glaciated heights of around 20,000 feet. As a

Lt. Col Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the army, armies, most Marine (armed services), marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use t ...

, he commanded an Infantry battalion at Okara and then as a

Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, commanded two infantry brigades, one of which was at Minimarg in Gilgit Baltistan.

1999 Kargil War (Indo-Pakistani War)

He was awarded Sitara-i-Jurat for his extraordinary service and bravery by the then

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Rafiq Tarar Muhammad Rafiq Tarar (; ur, ; 2 November 1929 – 7 March 2022) was a Pakistani politician and jurist who served as the ninth president of Pakistan from January 1998 until his resignation in June 2001, and prior to that as a senator from Punja ...

, after the Kargil encounter.

2001-02 military standoff and staff assignments

He commanded 23rd Infantry Division

on the

LoC LOC, L.O.C., Loc, LoC, or locs may refer to: Places * Lóc, a village in Sângeorgiu de Pădure, Mureș County, Romania * Lócs, a village in Vas county, Hungary * Line of Contact, meeting place of Western and Eastern Allied forces at the e ...

during the period of escalation, when Indian and Pakistani troops were tied up face to face in a very tense warlike state for two full years in 2001–03. He then served as the Director General NAB (Punjab), and was promoted to the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in 2005 and posted as Inspector General Training and Evaluation (IGT&E).

Commander Peshawar Corps

2007 Taliban Waziristan Offensive

Lt Gen Masood Aslam took charge of the sensitive post of Corps Commander Peshawar, also known as XI Corps, replacing Lt Gen Muhammad Hamid Khan. This was period when

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

launched

military operation A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations may ...

against the vigilantes of

Lal Masjid Lal Masjid or Red Mosque may refer to: * Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque, Pettah, Sri Lanka *Lal Masjid, Islamabad, Pakistan **Siege of Lal Masjid The siege of Lal Masjid ( ur, , code-named Operation Sunrise) was a confrontation in July 2007 between ...

that followed with a rising trend of terrorist attacks throughout Pakistan, mostly emanating from the rugged lands of

Waziristan Waziristan (Pashto and ur, , "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region covering the former FATA agencies of North Waziristan and South Waziristan which are now districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Waziristan covers some . ...

and the surrounding tribal regions. A counter-terrorist operation was then launched under the general.

Swat, Buner, Dir Lower

Lt Gen Masood Aslam pushed out defeated the militants in Swat, Buner, Dir Lower and other districts of Malakand Division and inflicting heavy blows against the TTP cadres in Bajaur, Mohmand and Khyber tribal agencies and Frontier Region (FR) Bannu. Lt General Masood Aslam was given an extension in his tenure as he was supposed to retire in October 2009.

2007 First Battle of Swat

In the

, also known as Operation Rah-e-Haq, Masood led the fight between Pakistan and the Taliban over control of the Swat District of Pakistan.

2008-09 Battle of Bajaur

In the

Battle of Bajaur The Battle of Bajaur ( en, Operation Lion Heart), also known as Operation Sherdil, was a military campaign in the Bajaur region of Pakistan. It was conducted on 7 August 2008 by the Frontier Corps and Infantry Brigade of Pakistan army. The oper ...

, also known as Operation Sherdil, Masood led this military offensive in the Bajaur region of Pakistan launched by the Frontier Corps and supported by a Combat Brigade of the Pakistan Army in which the Bajaur area had been under Taliban control since early 2007, and was said to be Al-Qaeda's main command and control hub for operations in Northeast Afghanistan, including Kunar province.

2008 Operation Zalzala

Operation Zalzala The Operation Zalzala ( English: Operation ''Earthquake''), was a Pakistan Army military offensive manhunt and a counter-insurgent operation that was commenced on 18 January 2008. The operation concluded with mixed results as the army had succes ...

, also known as Operation Earthquake, Masood commanded the first major Pakistan Army military offensive and counter-insurgent operation in South Waziristan which was commenced on January 18, 2008.

2009 Operation Black Thunderstorm

Operation Black Thunderstorm Operation Black Thunderstorm was an aggressive military operation that commenced on April 26, 2009 conducted by the Pakistan Army, with the aim of retaking Buner, Lower Dir, Swat and Shangla districts from the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan after the m ...

, Lt. Gen Masood Aslam led a military operation conducted by the Pakistan Army, with the aim of retaking Buner, Lower Dir, Swat and Shangla districts from the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan after the militants took control of them since the start of the year.

2009 Rah-e-Rast

Also known as The

Second Battle of Swat The Second Battle of Swat also known as Operation Rah-e-Rast, began in May 2009 and involved the Pakistani Army and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan militants in a fight for control of the Swat district of Pakistan. The first Battle of Swat had ended ...

, Lt. Gen Masood Aslam led Operation Rah-e-Rast and involved the Pakistani Army and Taliban militants in a fight for control of the Swat district of Pakistan.

2009 Mohmand Offensive

In the

Mohmand Offensive The Mohmand Offensive also known as Operation Brekhna ( en, Thunder) was a Pakistani military operation against the Tehrik-i-Taliban in the Mohmand Agency area of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas that began in 2009. Start of Offensive In ...

, also known as Operation Brekhna/Thunder, Lt. Gen Masood Aslam led a Pakistani military operation against the Tehrik-i-Taliban in the Mohmand Agency area of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

2009 Operation Rah-e-Nijat

Operation Rah-e-Nijat The Operation Rah-e-Nijat ("Path to Salvation"; ur, آپریشن راہ نجات) was a strategic offensive military operation by the unified command of Pakistan Armed Forces against the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and their extremist al ...

, also known as Path to Salvation, Lt. Gen Masood Aslam led a strategic offensive military operation by the unified command of Pakistan Armed Forces against the Tehrik-i-Taliban/TTP and their allies in the South Waziristan area of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas that began on June 19.)

Other honors

Elected President of the Frontier Golf Association (FGA) in 2008.

Post-retirement

Lieutenant General Muhammad Masood Aslam was awarded Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 2010. He was later posted as Pakistan Ambassador to Mexico in June 2011 for a three-year tenure.

Awards and decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aslam, Masood 1952 births Cadet College Hasan Abdal alumni Living people Pakistani generals Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz People from Jhelum District University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore alumni People of the insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Punjab Regiment officers Ambassadors of Pakistan to Mexico