RAWALPINDI: In a first, a female officer from minority Christian community has been promoted to the Pakistan Army’s rank of brigadier.
Helen Mary Roberts, serving at the Army Medical Corps, has become the first one-star officer from the minority community in Pakistan’s history.
Brigadier Roberts was among the officers promoted as brigadiers and full colonels by the Selection Board, The News reported on Sunday.
During a Christmas celebration at Christ Church in Rawalpindi last year, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir lauded the Christian community’s role in Pakistan’s development.
The army chief had also commended the community’s contributions in promoting quality education, healthcare and philanthropy, as well as national defence.
COAS Munir had expressed his profound respect for the Christian community and underscored the importance of fostering interfaith harmony to achieve Quaid’s vision of a united and progressive Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif extended his congratulations to Roberts on her promotion to the rank of brigadier in the Army Medical Corps.
“Brigadier Roberts, a member of the Pakistani Christian community, has made history by becoming the first woman from a minority background to achieve this prestigious rank,” the prime minister stated.
The prime minister said the entire nation including himself extended felicitation to her. He praised Brigadier Roberts for her hard work and dedication, saying that she had proven that Pakistani women could excel in any field and were second to none.
“The entire nation is proud of Brigadier Roberts and the thousands of hardworking women like her from minority communities who are serving the country with distinction,” he said
Brigadier Roberts’ commitment, he said, to service, humanity, and her dedication to her work would serve as a beacon of inspiration for the young women of the next generation.
