Peshawar/Islamabad/Lahore (Khyber Mail) July 25, 2025 — The Pakistan Army today announced the appointment of Major General Rao Imran Sartaj, Sitara e Imtiaz (Military), currently General Officer Commanding (GOC) Lahore Corps, as Inspector General of Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (IG FC KPK). His assignment takes effect immediately and comes amid persistent security and counter-terrorism challenges across the province’s northern districts.
Major General Sartaj was commissioned into the Pakistan Army’s Punjab Regiment in 1991 and has since accumulated over three decades of operational and command experience. He has held key field and staff appointments, including command of an infantry brigade on the western border and leadership of the 11th Infantry Division in Lahore. His tenure as GOC Lahore Corps saw him oversee major counter-terrorism operations, humanitarian relief efforts during floods, and large-scale joint exercises with paramilitary forces.
A graduate of the Command and Staff College, Quetta, and the National Defence University, Islamabad, Major General Sartaj is regarded as a “professional, courageous, and forward-thinking” officer. He was awarded the Sitara e Imtiaz (Military) in 2022 for distinguished services during Operation Zarb-e-Azb and subsequent actions against militant networks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
In his new role as IG FC KPK, Major General Sartaj will command approximately 70 Frontier Corps wings deployed along the Durand Line and within the province’s upper reaches. He is tasked with strengthening border security, disrupting militant hideouts, and enhancing coordination with the Pakistan Army, provincial police, and intelligence agencies. Military sources note that his appointment aims to sustain momentum in ongoing clearance operations and foster stability in districts such as North and South Waziristan, Swat, and Chitral.
Major General Sartaj succeeds Major General Tariq Mehmood, who completes his tenure after overseeing a period of enhanced community policing and infrastructure reconstruction in previously volatile areas. In a brief handover ceremony at the Frontier Corps headquarters in Peshawar, the outgoing IG praised Major General Sartaj’s record and expressed confidence that his leadership will further consolidate peace efforts.
Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir has welcomed the transfer, describing Major General Sartaj as “ideally suited to this demanding appointment.” Provincial authorities and local elders in tribal districts also extended felicitations, anticipating renewed focus on development projects alongside security operations.