Ashraf Rashid

Pakistani military officer (1948–2004)

Col. Com. SSG
DG Military Operations (DGMO)

Battles/wars

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Siachen conflict
Indo-Pakistani War of 1999

Awards

Nishan-e-Imtiaz

Hilal-e-Imtiaz

Major General Ashraf Rashid (Punjabi, Urdu: أشرف رشيد) (23 May 1948 – 2 October 2004) was a two-star general in the Pakistan Army and the colonel commandant of the Special Service Group division within the Pakistan Army from October 1995 to September 1999. A career army special forces officer, he was responsible for conducting paramilitary operations and infiltrating Kashmiri militants on the Indian side of the Line of Control, which subsequently led to the Kargil War. He resigned from his post in September 1999 following the intense pressure on Pakistan from international community to withdraw its military forces from Kargil.^[1]

Military career

Ashraf Rashid joined the Pakistan Army in 1964 and had participated in Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 as a Junior non-commissioned officer (JNCO). Rashid entered the Pakistan Military Academy in 1966. He graduated two years later and joined the Pakistan Army at the rank of lieutenant.

He was selected for the SSG unit, and was sent to the United States to the U.S. Special Forces training school to complete his training. Rashid graduated from the Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

He served in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and participated in the conflict as a captain, during which he was permanently injured on the right cheek. As a special service officer, Rashid was promoted as a Brigadier-General and was later sent to Siachen where he along with then-Brigadier-General Parvez Musharraf, participated in the conflict.

In 1995, he was promoted to Major General and was made commandant of his unit. He was instrumental in conducting paramilitary operations and infiltrating Kashmiri militants in the Kargil War. He resigned from his position and left the special forces as the failure of Kargil operation which he was widely blamed for.

Before becoming Commander of the Special Service Group commando division, Rashid was Director General of Military Operations, succeeding Jehangir Karamat, who became Chief of Army Staff.^[2]

Kargil War and resignation

As head of the Special Service Group, the special operations division, Rashid helped Kashmiri militants infiltrate the Indian side of the line of control in the Kargil district of Kashmir, where his division conducted covert operations. Only Rashid, then army chief of staff Pervez Musharraf and two other generals knew about the operation.^[3]

The event marked the beginning of the Kargil War, which ended with defeat and eventual withdrawal of the Pakistan Army from their occupied positions in Kargil.^[4] After being pressured by the US. Rashid's role in initiating the conflict and increased political pressure led to his resignation in September 1999.

Death

General Rashid died of a heart attack in his home in Lahore, on 2 October 2004.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ Singh, Jasjit, Kargil 1999, p. 68 (1999)
^ Cloughley, Brian, A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections, p. 215 (2006)
^ Nawaz, Shuja, Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within, p. 420 (2007)
^ Zehra, Nasim (25 July 2019). "Pakistan recognises the Kargil war was a blunder | Opinion". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 27 July 2021.

Pakistan Army

Leadership

Commander-in-Chief
- President of Pakistan
Chief Executive
- Prime Minister of Pakistan
Parliament
- Senate Committee on Defence
- National Assembly Committee on Defence
Cabinet Committee on National Security

Ministries	Defence Secretary Defence Production
General Headquarters	Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chief of Army Staff Chief of General Staff Surgeon-General Master-General of Ordnance Adjutant-General Engineer-in-Chief Surveyor-General Accountant-General Judge Advocate General Comptroller-General Quartermaster-General Serving Generals

Combat commands

Manoeuvre corps	I Corps II Corps IV Corps V Corps X Corps XI Corps XII Corps XXX Corps XXXI Corps
Corps-level formations	Air Defence Strategic Forces Southern Northern Eastern (historical)
Special Forces	Army Special Services Group (SSG) Light Commando Battalion (LCB) Special Security Division (SSD)
Reserves	Pakistan Army Reserve North South

Administrative arms

Infantry regiments	Azad Kashmir Baloch Frontier Force Northern Light Infantry Punjab Sindh
Administrative corps	Armoured Artillery Air Defence Chaplains Aviation Dental Education Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Engineers Medical Military Intelligence Military Police Nursing Ordnance Remount, Veterinary and Farms Service Corps Signals

Paramilitary

Civil Armed Forces
National Guard

Affiliated
organisations

Defence Housing Authority	DHA Karachi DHA Islamabad DHA Lahore
Fauji Foundation	Fauji Foods Askari Bank Fauji Fertilizer Company Mari Petroleum
Sports	Army Basketball Army F.C.

Education
and
Training

Service training	Pakistan Military Academy Parachute Training School
Foundation University Islamabad	Foundation University Medical College
National Defence University	Command and Staff College
National University of Medical Sciences	Army Medical College Armed Forces Post Graduate Medical Institute CMH Lahore Medical And Dental College Wah Medical College
National University of Sciences and Technology	College of Electrical & Mechanical Engineering Military College of Engineering Military College of Signals Pakistan Navy Engineering College College of Aeronautical Engineering
Other universities	DHA Suffa University HITEC University Lahore Garrison University National University of Modern Languages National University of Technology Northern University University of Wah Army Public College of Management Sciences
Preparatory colleges	Army Burn Hall College Army Public Schools and Colleges Cadet Colleges Military College Jhelum Military College Murree Military College Sui

Literature and culture

Books	A Case of Exploding Mangoes Crossed Swords The Battle for Pakistan Military Inc.
Dramatization	Alpha Bravo Charlie Burning Valley Private Maqbool Hussain Ehd-e-Wafa Sinf-e-Aahan
Films	The Glorious Resolve Waar Waar-II Independence Delta Echo Foxtrot Wilco