Pakistan confers medal on Turkish land forces chief

ISLAMABAD

Pakistan's President Arif Alvi on Monday conferred the Nishan-e-Imtiaz or Order of Excellence -- a highly prestigious military award -- on the Commander of the Turkish Land Forces, Gen. Umit Dundar, at the President House in the capital Islamabad.

The ceremony was attended by high civil and military officials including Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul, state-run Pakistan Television reported.

Dundar is on an official visit to Pakistan.

He graduated from the Army War College in 1985, from Royal Army Staff College (United Kingdom) in 1991, and from the Armed Forces College in 1994.

He served as the Chief of Construction, Real Estate and NATO Infrastructure Department of the Ministry of National Defense from 2001 to 2004 and as the commander of the 28th Mechanized Infantry Brigade from 2004 to 2005. During this period, he also served as the commander of the Multinational Brigade in Afghanistan, according to a statement issued from the Presidency.

He was promoted to the rank of major general in 2005, lieutenant general in 2009 and general in 2013.

He served as the commander of the 3rd Army for two years and subsequently and served as the commander of the 1st Army. He also served as the acting chief of the General Staff for a brief period in 2016.

Dundar served as the deputy chief of the General Staff from 2016 to 2018.

He was appointed as the commander of the Turkish Land Forces by Turkey’s president in July 2018.

The ceremony was told that Gen. Dundar was a "sincere and close friend of Pakistan who played a role in the strengthening of Pakistan-Turkish ties."

Meeting with Pakistan’s army chief

Dundar also visited Pakistan Army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi to meet Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa.

During the meeting, according to a statement from the army, matters of mutual and professional interest with a special emphasis on defense and security collaboration between the two countries were discussed.

The two sides agreed to further optimize military to military ties, particularly in the training and counter-terrorism domains, the statement added.

Earlier on arrival, Dundar was presented with a Guard of Honor by a military contingent.

*Aamir Latif in Karachi contributed to this story from Karachi, Pakistan