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 ...

Sarfraz Ali ( ; 13 September 1971 – 2 August 2022) was a Pakistani general. He was the commander of the Pakistan Army's XII Corps from December 2020 until his death in a military helicopter crash on 2 August 2022.

Personal life

Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali is survived by a widow, two sons and a daughter. His son is also serving in the Pakistan Army as a Captain and was his ADC. His father served in the Pakistan Air Force.

Career

He was the recipient of the Tamgha e Basalat on 2 occasions. His first medal came after a campaign in 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 referre ...

as a major. His received the bar to his medal for action in Operation Rah-e-Rast as the Commanding officer of his parent battalion. Ali also commanded Pakistani military units during

Operation Zarb-e-Azb Operation Zarb-e-Azb (Pashto/ ur, ALA-LC: ) was a joint military offensive conducted by the Pakistan Armed Forces against various militant groups, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the East ...

. Between 2012 and 2014, he commanded the 111 Brigade. He later served as Pakistan's

defence attaché Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indus ...

in Washington, D.C., United States from 2014 to 2017. In 2018, he was appointed as Commandant of

Pakistan Command and Staff College ( ''romanized'': Pir Sho Biyamooz Saadi) English: Grow old, learning Saadi ur, سیکھتے ہوئے عمر رسیدہ ہو جاؤ، سعدی , established = (as the ''Army Staff College'' in Deolali, British India) , closed ...

. In October 2018, he was appointed DG Military Intelligence. He was appointed Commander of the XII Corps in December 2020, where he served until his death in August 2022.

Posted as Commander 111th Infantry Brigade

On 12 January 2012, when Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali, who at the time was a Brigadier, was appointed Commander of the

111th Infantry Brigade The 111th Infantry Brigade or 111th Brigade or Triple-1 Brigade, is an infantry brigade of the Pakistan Army notable for its frequent involvement and fast response in military coup d'etats since Pakistani independence. From 11 January 2012 Brigad ...

, the Pakistani Government, Pakistani media and Indian media speculated that a coup was about to take place due to Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali's posting at a time when

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pak ...

Yousaf Raza Gillani Yusuf Raza Gilani ( Urdu: ; born 9 June 1952), is a Pakistani politician who served as 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 25 March 2008, until his retroactive disqualification and ouster by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 26 April 2012 ...

had accused

Chief of Army Staff Chief of Army Staff or Chief of the Army Staff which is generally abbreviated as COAS is a title commonly used for the appointment held by the most senior staff officer or the chief commander in several nations' armies. * Chief of Army (Australia ...

Ashfaq Parvez Kayani General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (Urdu: ; born 20 April 1952), is a retired four-star general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 8th Chief of Army Staff , being appointed on 29 November 2007 after his predecessor Pervez Musharraf retired from ...

and DG ISI Ahmad Shuja Pasha of violating the constitution by submitting "illegal" replies against Zardari to the Supreme Court on the memogate scandal. The rumors started by the government and media later turned out to be false because there was no coup and it was just a routine change of command.

Death and funeral

On 1 August 2022, a Pakistani military helicopter with six officers, including Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali went missing during flood relief operations in

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastl ...

. On 2 August 2022, they were all found dead. Their funeral prayers were offered in

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

on 3 August 2022, with

Qamar Javed Bajwa General Qamar Javed Bajwa ( ur, ; born 11 November 1960) is a retired Pakistani army general who served as the tenth Chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan from 29 November 2016 to 29 November 2022. In 2018 he was ranked 68th in the ''Forbes' ...

, Lt. Gen.

Faiz Hameed Faiz Hameed ( Punjabi & ur, ) is a retired three-star general in the Pakistani Army. He last served as Commander of the XXXI Corps. He was commissioned in the Baloch Regiment having served as the 24th Director General of the ISI and as GOC ...

, Lt. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, and other high ranking army officers attending. He was buried in Shuhada graveyard in

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 ...

, Pakistan.

Effective dates of promotion

Awards and decorations

Foreign decorations

Notes

References

] {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Sarfraz 2022 deaths 2022 in Balochistan, Pakistan Pakistani generals Sindhi people Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Pakistan Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2022 Victims of helicopter accidents or incidents Pakistani military attachés Pakistan Military Academy alumni Lieutenant generals Pakistan Army personnel Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz 1971 births Pakistan Army officers Pakistani diplomats Military personnel from Karachi Pakistani Muslims