Muhammad Masood Aslam (

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: ; born 1 September 1952) is a retired three-star

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

who served in the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

for 39 years. His last post in the Army was serving as the commander of the XI Corps, fighting TTP forces in the North-West Pakistan region from 2007 to 2010. He also held the post of

Colonel commandant Colonel commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive military rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honor ...

of the Punjab Regiment from March 2008 to April 2010. Masood played a key role in the management of crucial operations against the Tehrik-i-Taliban, including directing and commanding the

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 ''Rah-e-Nijat''.

Early life

Muhammad Masood Aslam was born on 1 September 1952 in Mujahidabad,

Jhelum Jhelum (; , ) is a city, located along the western bank of the Jhelum River, in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 21st largest city in Punjab and 31st largest in Pakistan, by population. Located in northern Punjab, it serves as the capital of the ...

in Northern

Punjab (Pakistan) Punjab (, ) is a province of Pakistan. With a population of over 127 million, it is the most populous province in Pakistan and the second most populous subnational polity in the world. Located in the central-eastern region of the country, i ...

Education

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

Cadet College Hasan Abdal Cadet College Hasanabdal (CCH) is a residential secondary school located in Hasan Abdal, Attock District, Punjab, Pakistan.

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

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

, he decided to enlist as an Army officer and joined the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) is a military academy located nearby Kakul village in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Established in October 1947, it is the only service academy in Pakistan that trains cadets to serve as army of ...

in 1970.

Personal life

Masood is married having a family consisting of two daughters and one son. On 4 December 2009 his only son, 20 year old Hashim Masood Aslam, a student at the College of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

was a victim of the 2009 Parade Lane Mosque attack which happened during

Friday prayer Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...

Military career

He was selected into the 47th course of the

which was completed early due to the Indo-Pak War of 1971 and was commissioned in the 4th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment on 14 November 1971.

1971 War

Within a few weeks of commission, he was seriously wounded fighting on the front lines at the Chumb-Jaurian sector. He was awarded the Imtiazi Sanad (mentioned in despatches) and the 'Gold Wound Stripe' for his efforts and gallantry. He was among the pioneers who established the computer branch at the GHQ in the early 1970s.

Military schooling

He has a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

War studies War studies, sometimes called polemology, is the multi-disciplinary study of war. It pertains to the military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfa ...

from

Quaid-i-Azam University Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), founded as the University of Islamabad, is a public research university in Islamabad, Pakistan. Founded as the University of Islamabad in 1967, it was initially dedicated to postgraduate study, but later expande ...

, attended the Pakistan Naval War College, completed the Command and Staff College (Quetta) Course, Armed Forces War Course from the National Defence College, UN Peace Keeping Course in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, and a

Security studies __NOTOC__ Security studies, also known as international security studies, is an academic sub-field within the wider discipline of international relations that studies organized violence, military conflict, national security, and international s ...

course at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Military and Command Assignments

During the 1987-88

Siachen Conflict The Siachen conflict, sometimes referred to as the Siachen Glacier conflict or the Siachen War, was a military conflict Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts, between India and Pakistan over the disputed Siachen Glacier region in Kashmir. The conf ...

he was stationed at a towering elevation of 20,000 feet, establishing military posts. He later commanded an infantry battalion in

Okara, Pakistan Okara (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ), is the capital city of Okara District in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. The name Okara is derived from ''Okaan'', which is the name of a type of tree. In ancient times there were a large ...

as a Lieutenant Colonel and then commanded two infantry brigades as a

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

one of which was in

Minimarg Minimarg () is a village in the Astore District of Gilgit-Baltistan, Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. It is situated on the bank of the Burzil Nala, approximately south of the Chilam Chowki checkpost and to the north of a border village named Kamri, ...

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...

. During the 1999 Kargil War, he was awarded the Sitara-i-Jurat for his efforts and bravery by

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Rafiq Tarar. From 2001 to 2002, he commanded the 23rd Infantry Division in

, then served as the

Director General A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

National Accountability Bureau The National Accountability Bureau (; abbreviated NAB) is Pakistan's anti-corruption agency. Its chairman is Nazir Ahmed Butt, a retired general. History The Ehtesab Act, 1997 established an Ehtesab Cell, charged with the investigation and pr ...

(Punjab Division). He was promoted to LTG in 2005 and was appointed as Inspector General Training and Evaluation.

Corps Commander Peshawar

Masood took over as Commander in 2007, replacing LTG Muhammad Hamid Khan. During his tenure, the

launched the

military operation A military operation (op) 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. Operati ...

against the vigilantes of Lal Masjid in

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

, that followed a rise in terrorist attacks across the country, mostly from Waziristan and the surrounding

FATA The Federally Administered Tribal Areas, commonly known as FATA, was a autonomous administrative division, semi-autonomous tribal region in north-western Pakistan that existed from Independence Day (Pakistan), 1947 until being merged with the ...

regions. Under Masood's leadership, the Corps defeated militants in the Malakand Division and inflicted heavy losses on TTP fighters in the Bajaur, Mohmand, and Khyber tribal agencies and Frontier Regions. He led the

and the Battle of Bajaur against the TTP, Operation Zalzala in South Waziristan, Operation Black Thunderstorm in Buner, Lower Dir, Swat, and Shangla districts, Operation Rah-e-Rast in Swat, Mohmand Offensive in

Mohmand District Mohmand District (, ) is a district in Peshawar Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Until 2018, it was an Federally Administered Tribal Areas#Administrative divisions, agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas, with merger ...

, and

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

in South Waziristan against TTP and its allies.

Extension

He was scheduled to retire in October 2009 but was the first of three

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

given an extension in tenure by Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

Other honors

He became the President of the Frontier Golf Association in October 2008. Masood was awarded Imtiazi Sanad for gallantry in the 1971 War against India in the Chamb Sector and a Golden Wound Stripe when he was critically wounded while leading an attack as a platoon commander across Tawi River near Pallanwala. In 1999, as a Brigade Commander in the Kargil Crisis, he was awarded Sitara-e-Jurat (SJ) for exceptional leadership and Gallantry. In 2005, He was awarded Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) for his meritorious services. And in 2010,

Lt Gen Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was normall ...

Masood was awarded Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Civilian) for his contribution towards bringing peace in Swat Region.

Later work

Memorial trust established

In January 2010, Masood established the Shaheed Hashim Masood Memorial Trust, in honour of his son who was a victim of the 2009 Parade Lane Mosque attack. The trust registered with the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

in the same month. The first donor gathering for the trust was held on 12 December 2010, wherein Masood stated that the goals of the trust are to provide employment, education, entrepreneurial opportunities, and humanitarian assistance for the 2010 Pakistan Flood affected people in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

Diplomatic career

He was posted as Pakistan Ambassador to Mexico in June 2011 until July 2013.

TV appearances

On 9 December 2021, he gave an interview to Arshad Sharif about the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

Dates of promotion

Awards and decorations

References

{{Pakistan Army template 1952 births Living people Pakistan Army lieutenant generals People of the Bangladesh Liberation War 21st-century Pakistani military personnel Military personnel from Punjab, Pakistan Pakistan Military Academy alumni People of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Pakistani military engineers Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz Pakistan Command and Staff College alumni People from Jhelum District Pakistani military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Quaid-i-Azam University alumni University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore alumni Recipients of Sitara-e-Jurat 20th-century Pakistani military personnel National Defence University, Pakistan alumni People of the insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Punjab Regiment officers Ambassadors of Pakistan to Mexico Cadet College Hasan Abdal alumni