On Tuesday, September 22nd, director-general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Asim Saleem Bajwa was promoted from the rank of Major General to Lieutenant General of the Pakistani Armed Forces.
ISPR operates as the media and public relations outlet of the Pakistani military, broadcasting and coordinating news and information about the national armed forces to the general public of Pakistan. ISPR also provides financial and production assistance to the military’s film franchise, which produces war dramas and related fictional pieces. As director-general, Bajwa is the official spokesperson of the Pakistani Armed Forces.
Bajwa was appointed to the role of ISPR Director General on June 4th, 2012. He holds Master’s degrees in Defense Studies from King’s College, London and in War Studies from the National Defense University, Islamabad. Before his appointment as director-general of ISPR, he served in Dera Ismail Khan as a general officer.
Bajwa functioned primarily in the tribal region of South Waziristan, overseeing operations to reduce militancy and foster peace. He also worked as a deputy military secretary under President General Pervez Musharraf, offering notable research and compilation assistance to Musharraf in the development of his book In The Line Of Fire.
In the same series of promotions, three other Major Generals of the Pakistani armed forces moved to the rank of Lieutenant General. Major General Aamir Riaz, Major General Sadiq Ali, and Major General Umar Farooq Durrani were all promoted. Riaz, Ali and Durrani have either been posted to new positions or are expected to receive official postings within two months.
Aamir Riaz’s new role is as Corps Commander Quetta; Sadiq Ali has been appointed to Corps Commander Lahore, and Umar Durrani has been appointed to Corps Commander Mangla.
Of the four Major Generals whose rank was promoted to Lieutenant General, Bajwa is the only official who retains his prior post. Bajwa’s continuation as the Director-General of Inter-Services Public Relations, a position putting him very much in the public eye is generally accepted by the people of Pakistan.
A PR pro being promoted in the military – that’s an unusual Public Relations News Story!