Sarfraz Ali (general)

Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali HI(M) TBt & Bar[lower-alpha 1] (Urdu: سرفراز علی ; 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.

Shaheed, Lt. Gen.
Sarfraz Ali
HI(M) TBt & Bar[lower-alpha 1]
سرفراز علی
Commander XII Corps
In office
December 2020 – 2 August 2022
Preceded byMuhammad Waseem Ashraf
Succeeded byAsif Ghafoor
Director general Military Intelligence
In office
25 October 2018 – January 2020
Preceded byAsim Munir
Succeeded byAzhar Waqas
Inspector general Frontier Corps Balochistan (South)[1]
In office
January 2020 – December 2020
PrecedingSaeed Ahmed Nagra
Succeeded byAyman Bilal Safdar
Personal details
Born(1971-09-13)13 September 1971
Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan
Died2 August 2022(2022-08-02) (aged 50)
Balochistan, Pakistan
Cause of deathHelicopter crash due to bad weather
Resting placeShuhada Graveyard, Rawalpindi
Military service
AllegiancePakistan
Branch/servicePakistani Army
Years of service1989–2022
RankLieutenant General
Unit6 Azad Kashmir Regiment
Commands
Battles/wars
Awards

Personal life

Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali is survived by a widow, two sons and a daughter.[3] His son is also serving in the Pakistan Army as a Captain and was his ADC.[4] 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 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. Between 2012 and 2014, he commanded the 111 Brigade. He later served as Pakistan's defence attaché in Washington, D.C., United States from 2014 to 2017.[5] In 2018, he was appointed as Commandant of Pakistan Command and Staff College. 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.[6]

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 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 Yousaf Raza Gillani had accused Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani 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.[7]

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.[8] On 2 August 2022, they were all found dead.[9] Their funeral prayers were offered in Quetta on 3 August 2022, with Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa, Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, Lt. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, and other high ranking army officers attending.[10] He was buried in Shuhada graveyard in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Effective dates of promotion
InsigniaRankDate
Lieutenant GeneralNovember 2020[11]
Major GeneralFebruary 2017[12]
Brigadier2012[12]
ColonelDirectly promtoted to brigadier
Lieutenant ColonelAug 2005[13]
Major1997
Captain1992
Lieutenant1990
Second Lieutenant1989

Awards and decorations
Hilal-e-Imtiaz

(Military)

(Crescent of Excellence)

(2020)

 Tamgha-e-Basalat & Bar[lower-alpha 1]

(Medal of Good Conduct)

 Tamgha-e-Baqa

(Nuclear Test Medal)

1998

Tamgha-e-Istaqlal Pakistan

(Escalation with India Medal)

2002

 Tamgha-e-Azm

(Medal of Conviction)

(2018)

 10 Years Service Medal 20 Years Service Medal
30 Years Service Medal 35 Years Service Medal Jamhuriat Tamgha

(Democracy Medal)

1988

 Qarardad-e-Pakistan Tamgha

(Resolution Day

Golden Jubilee Medal)

1990

Tamgha-e-Salgirah Pakistan

(Independence Day

Golden Jubilee Medal)

1997

 Command & Staff College Quetta

Student's Medal

 United Nations

UNMIH Medal

(2 Deployments)

 Army Commendation

Medal

Foreign decorations
Foreign Awards
 United Nations UNMIH Medal
 USA Army Commendation Medal

Notes
  1. "Bar" refers to a second award of the same honour

References
  1. "Meeting with Maj. Gen. Sarfraz Ali, IG FC (South)". 19 May 2020.
  2. "Commander 111 Brigade changed". geo.tv. 24 January 2012. Archived from the original on 24 January 2012.
  3. "Lt Gen Sarfraz Ali: a thorough professional with an impeccable personality". Daily Pakistan. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  4. "Bright Memories of General Sarfaraz Ali Shaheed – Daily Parliament Times". 11 August 2022.
  5. "Military operation to continue: defence attaché". Dawn. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  6. Siddiqui, Naveed (2 August 2022). "Wreckage of missing Pakistan Army helicopter found, 6 officers, soldiers aboard martyred: ISPR". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  7. "When a Pakistani officer's posting fuelled coup rumour". India Today.
  8. "Pakistan Army aviation helicopter goes missing". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  9. "Corps commander among six military personnel martyred in copter crash". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  10. "COAS attended funeral prayers of helicopter crash martyrs". The Express Tribune. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  11. "Tributes pour in for 'exemplary commander' Lt Gen Sarfraz Ali". Aaj English TV. 2 August 2022.
  12. "Inter Services Public Relations Pakistan". ispr.gov.pk (Press release). 9 February 2017. PR-57/2017-ISPR.
  13. "Inter Services Public Relations Pakistan". ispr.gov.pk (Press release). 13 August 2008. PR-17/2008-ISPR.

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