New Delhi: Major General Julian Moazzam James, upon his promotion Friday, became the first Christian in the history of the Pakistan military from the elite Special Service Group (SSG) to reach the rank. The SSG is the Pakistan Army’s special operations force.
“It’s a day of immense pride for Christians in Pakistan as we celebrate the promotion of a remarkable individual to the rank of ‘Major General’. Making history as the ‘first SSG Christian Commando Officer’ Major General Jullion Moazzam James in the 76-year history of the Pakistan Army, this milestone fills us with pride,” announced Bishop Azad Marshall, the moderator bishop of the Church of Pakistan.
James led the Pakistani military delegation to India in April 2023 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s defence ministers’ meeting, chaired by Indian Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh, according to media reports.
According to the 2017 census of Pakistan, Christians make up nearly 1.27 percent of the country’s total population; that is, there are roughly 2.6 million practising Christians in a 207 million-strong population.
James isn’t the first Christian major general in the Pakistan Armed Forces — that was Julian Peter. Peter, who passed away in March 2023, fought in the 1971 India-Pakistan war as part of the 4th Frontier Force Haidry Regiment in the Hilli Sector in then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.
Similarly, Noel Israel Khokhar, another Christian officer, was promoted to major general in 2009. He is now posted as the ambassador of Pakistan to Ukraine.
In June this year, Dr Helen Mary Roberts was promoted to brigadier— the first Pakistani Christian woman to reach the rank. Roberts has served as a senior pathologist in the Pakistan Army Medical Corps and as the first female surgeon general of the Pakistani military.
Similarly, members of the Pakistani Christian community have served in the Pakistan Air Force. They include Air Commodore Nazir (Bill) Latif, who fought in the 1965 and 1971 wars.
Wing Commander Mervyn Leslie Middlecoat was another well-known pilot in the Pakistan Air Force from the same community. During the 1971 war, his aircraft was shot down over the Indian Ocean.
In 2007, the Pakistan Army got its first commissioned Sikh officer when Hercharn Singh Bedi graduated from the Pakistan Military Academy.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)