- General Asif Ghafoor is a graduate of the Command & Staff College, Quetta.
- He served for three-and-half years until 31 January 2020 when he was replaced by Major-General Babar Iftikhar.
- He was awarded the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) for his exemplary services to the military in 2018.
Early Life and education
Asif Ghafoor joined the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) Kakul as cadet in 1986. He is a graduate of the Command & Staff College, Quetta. He also studied at the Command & Staff College, Bandung in Indonesia
He graduated from the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad and holds a master’s degree in Strategic Studies.
Military Career
Asif Ghafoor was commissioned in the 87 Medium Regiment (Artillery Corps) on 9 September 1988 after four years of training in the Junior Cadet Battalion at PMA Kakul.
During his military career, Major Asif Ghafoor has participated in the Kargil War in 1999 and operations against terrorists in tribal areas of FATA during 2008-2010. He commanded a division in the war against terrorism in Swat in 2016 as a Major General.
Asif Ghafoor has also served as Director Military Operations at GHQ. As a brigadier, he commanded Divisional Artillery deployed along the Line of Control and infantry brigade along eastern border.
He has served on various staff, instructional and command assignments including Brigade Major Infantry Brigade, Assistant Military Secretary MS Branch, GSO-I Military Operations Directorate at GHQ, and Director Military Operations at GHQ.
He has a vast experience in military operations and has commanded a unit in Operation Al-Mizan, a series of strategic military campaigns conducted by the Pakistan Army and United States special operations forces from 2002 to 2006.
He has commended the Artillery Brigade on Line of Control, Infantry Brigade on Eastern Border and a Division in Swat and Malakand.
DG ISPR
In December 2016, Major-General Asif Ghafoor was appointed as the 20th Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army.
He was then commanding a division in Swat and replaced Lt Gen Asim Bajwa. He is well known for his role of DG ISPR and his presence on social media Twitter where he regularly commented against Indian aggression and strengthened Pakistan’s narrative against fifth generation warfare.
He served for three-and-half years until 31 January 2020 when he was replaced by Major-General Babar Iftikhar.
Corps Commander XII Quetta
Major-General Asif Ghafoor was appointed as the General Officer Commanding 40th Infantry Division in Okara on 31 January 2020 and served till 28 November 2020.
Asif Ghafoor was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General in November 2020. He served as Inspector-General Communications and Information Technology from 28 November 2020 to 2 August 2022
In August 2022, Lt Gen Asif Ghafoor was appointed as Commander Corps XII in Quetta. He placed Lt Gen Sarfraz Ali who was martyred in a military helicopter crash en route from Lasbela to Karachi on 1 August 2022.
Apart from his military duties, he has been on the faculty of Command and Staff College, Quetta. He is a recipient of COAS Commendation Card for operations in Bajaur during 2008. He was awarded the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) for his exemplary services to the military in 2018.
