ISLAMABAD: Pakistan this week appointed its first Hindu, Kailash Kumar, to the rank of Lt. Colonel, state-run Pakistan Television (PTV) said.
Non-Muslims make up only about three percent of the 220 million population of Pakistan, which was founded as a haven for the sub-continent’s Muslims on independence from the British in 1947 with a promise of religious freedom to minorities.
Pakistan’s Hindus and other minorities have faced a surge of violence in recent years as militants attack groups that do not share their strict interpretation of Islam.
“Kumar is the first Hindu officer to be promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Pakistan Army,” PTV said on Twitter.
Pakistan’s information minister, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, congratulated Kumar on the appointment.
“Congratulations Kailash Kumar, you are our pride. #Pakarmyzindabad,” he tweeted.
Congratulations #KelashKumar you are our pride…. #pakarmyzindabad https://t.co/oRDUGu8clU
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) February 25, 2022
Patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council and lawmaker Dr. Ramesh Vankwani also tweeted his happiness at the development.
Heartiest congratulations on promotion of Hindu officers in Pak Army @dawn_com pic.twitter.com/cvFvBfn1Tw
— Dr. Ramesh Vankwani (@RVankwani) February 26, 2022
As per a report on Samaa.tv, Kumar is serving in the Pakistan Army’s Medical Corps. He was promoted from the rank of Major to Lt. Colonel.
Kumar hails from Pakistan’s Tharparkar district in the southern province of Sindh. He completed his MBBS degree from the Liaquat Medical University of Health Sciences Jamshoro in 2006. He joined the Pakistan Army in 2012 as a senior doctor at a hospital in North Sudan.
