Draft:Ausaf Ali (General)

Ausaf Ali, HI, HI(M), is a retired Pakistan Army two-star general who is currently serving as Advisor, to Strategic Plans Division at Pakistan's National Command Authority (NCA). Prior to his retirement from the Pakistan Army in February 2014, Ali held several key appointments, culminating in his appointment as Director General (Operations and Plans), at the Strategic Plans Division.

Early life
Ausaf Ali was born in Karachi, Pakistan on October 28, 1957. After completing his Intermediate in Pre-Engineering from DJ Science College Karachi, in April 1976 Ali joined Pakistan Army and entered Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) at Kakul. After completing his initial two years of training at the PMA, in 1978 Ali was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in an Engineer Battalion of the Corps of Engineers, Pakistan Army. In 1984 he graduated from Military College of Engineering, Risalpur, with bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering.

Military Career
In a military career spanning 36 years, he has held several various staff and command appointments. His key appointments include serving as General Staff Officer (Grade-2) at Military Secretary’s Branch and General Staff Officer (Grade-1) at the Military Operations Directorate at General Headquarters (GHQ), Rawalpindi. He was serving in Military Operations Directorate, GHQ during the Indian and Pakistan's Nuclear Tests of May 1998 at Chagai-I, and later during the 1999 Kargil Conflict with India. During the 2001–2002 India–Pakistan military stand-off he was posted as a Colonel Staff of an Infantry Division, where he oversaw the formation’s combat deployment along the Pakistan-India border. As a Lieutenant Colonel, Ali commanded an engineer battalion and as a Brigadier he commanded an engineer brigade assigned to a holding Corps, where he supervised the mine lifting operation along India-Pakistan border in 2002/3. During his career, Ali also completed several professional development courses from premier military institutions. He is a graduate of Command & Staff College, Quetta, attended Turkish Language Course at National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad, attended Turkish Staff College, Istanbul. He attended Armed Forces War Course and holds Master’s degree in War Studies from National Defence University, Islamabad.

From March 2004 onwards, a significant portion of Ali’s career was spent at the Strategic Plans Division (SPD), which is the secretariat of Pakistan’s National Command Authority and responsible for Pakistan’s nuclear, missile and space programs. At the SPD, he held several key appointments, including Director General (Operations and Plans). In his over fourteen years of stay at the SPD, he played a key role in the development of Pakistan’s strategic program. He is considered to be among a select group of SPD’s pioneering team.

Post-retirement
After an illustrious military career spanning 36 years, Ali retired from Pakistan Army in February 2014. Later he was appointed as Director General (Policy) at the SPD, an appointment he held from 2014, until July 2018. He remained actively involved with Pakistan’s Strategic Program for over 14 years and made significant contributions. From 1 August 2018 till to date, he continues to be employed as an Advisor at the SPD.

Since 2004, Ali has regularly spoken at several domestic and international forums and various seminars. His primary areas of focus have been Pakistan’s nuclear policy, doctrine , strategy, with reference to geo-strategic and national security interests in South-East Asia.

Awards
In recognition of his meritorious services, Ali has been decorated with national and military awards, which include, Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) , and Commendation Card from Chairman Joint Chief's of Staff Committee (CJCSC).

Controversies
In the Dubai Unlocked, he was identified and listed as the owner of a studio apartment in Al Yufra 2, which was acquired in February 2016.