Abdul Qadir Baloch

Lieutenant-General (R) Abdul Qadir Baloch (Urdu, Balochi: عبد القادر بلوچ) is a Pakistani politician and retired Pakistan Army general^[1] who served as the Governor of Balochistan in 2003 and is currently an elected parliamentarian in the National Assembly of Pakistan (MNA) from his constituency in Quetta.^[2] He is affiliated with the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) political party. He holds the distinction of being the first ethnic Baloch army general in the Pakistani military establishment.^[3]

Earlier, he served as the Corps Commander of Quetta before retiring prematurely to take up the post of governor. During his army career, Baloch also commanded an infantry brigade in Muzaffarabad and remained a General Officer Commander (GOC) at Murree, while commanding troops positioned along the Line of Control in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.^[3] He has spoken extensively on political affairs and issues concerning the Balochistan conflict in the province of Balochistan,^[4] where he originally hails from, and has been a long-standing advocate and campaigner for human rights across the country. In August 2011, he was selected by his party chief Nawaz Sharif as the assistant secretaries-general of the PML-N.^[5]

References