Islamabad: Two Hindu officers in the Pakistan Army have been elevated to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel for the first time, Pakistan’s official media has reported. The move has garnered considerable interest on social media in country.
Major Kelash Kumar and Major Aneel Kumar have been promoted to the post of Lieutenant Colonel after the Pakistan Army Promotion Board approved their promotions, media reports said. Kelash Kumar, who hails from Tharparkar district in Sindh province, had also become the country’s first-ever Major from the Hindu community in 2019, according to local media reports.
He was born in 1981 and joined the Pakistan Army in 2008 as a captain after completing his MBBS from the Liaquat University of Medical Health and Sciences in Jamshoro. Aneel Kumar is a year younger to Kelash, and he hails from Badin, also in Sindh province. He had joined the Pakistan Army in 2007, reports said. State-run Pakistan TV tweeted about the promotion of Kelash Kumar. “Kumar has become the first Hindu officer promoted as Lt Colonel,” the PTV tweeted. The news was picked up by Kapil Dev, an active campaigner for the rights of the Hindu community in Pakistan. “History in Making Kelash Kumar becomes the first #Hindu officer to have been promoted as Lt Col in #PakArmy. Congratulations, Kelash!!!” Dev tweeted.
