Lt. Gen. Salman Fayyaz Ghani

Some Lesser Known Facts About Salman Fayyaz Ghani

• Salman Fayyaz Ghani is a lieutenant general of the Pakistan Army who was the 26th Corps Commander of the Lahore Corps (aka IV Corps). He made the headlines in May 2023 after he was sacked from his post after an agitated mob ransacked his official residence in the Lahore cantonment.

• After completing his graduation, Ghani applied for the officer’s entry into the Pakistan Army following which he joined the Pakistan Military Academy’s 79th Long Course.

• After two years of rigorous military training, Ghani joined the Pakistan Army’s 10th Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment (FFR) as a second lieutenant.

• As he gained experience and seniority in the army, Ghani went on to become a Company Commander, Battalion Commander, and Brigade Commander.

• Following his promotion to the rank of brigadier, Ghani was sent to Quetta, Balochistan, where he assumed the post of Pakistan military’s School of Infantry and Tactics.

• After becoming a major general in February 2017, he was posted to Jhelum district, Punjab Province, where he assumed the command of the 23rd Infantry Division.

  

• His first posting after becoming a lieutenant general in November 2020 was at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi as Inspector General (IG) (Arms).

  

• Violent protests erupted in Pakistan when Ghani was serving as the GOC of the Lahore Corps. On 9 May 2023, many protestors breached the gates of the Lahore cantonment and ransacked the Corps Commander’s house (aka Jinnah House) after Ghani went against General Asim Munir, the COAS of Pakistan, and refused to give the soldiers the order to fire on unarmed civilians.

• Thereafter, a video on Twitter went viral in which Ghani was seen trying to dissuade the protestors from attacking his home. The protestors, who were agitating against Imran Khan’s arrest, stole many expensive items from Ghani’s house including kitchen appliances, furniture, and drawing room showpieces.

• On 12 May 2023, the Pakistan Army announced that Lieutenant General Fayyaz Hussain Shah would succeed Ghani as the 27th Corps Commander of the Lahore Corps and Lt Gen Ghani would be reporting to the GHQ, Rawalpindi, as Inspector General (IG) (Arms). Many sources from Pakistan claim that Ghani’s removal as a Corps Commander was a punishment that was meted out to him for going against General Munir’s orders of opening fire on civilians.