Haroon aslam is my vote for
Next Chief Of Army Staff - 2013 ?
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Judging Kayani
Babar Sattar
Published 2013-10-28
HOW will history judge Gen Kayani? Will he be remembered as a great army chief who was the soldiers’ soldier and improved the terms of service of the lower ranks? Will he be remembered as a great general who prevented Pakistan from going over the precipice while caught in the eye of the storm? Will he be remembered as a leader who resisted the temptation to launch a coup while confronted with sickly democracy and patiently steered civil-military relations in the right direction?
Gen Kayani comes across as an affable man. He seems to be someone who understands nuance and the grey in life. He reads and is thus better than those who don’t. He comprehends what he reads and this qualifies him as a thoughtful man. He understands that silence is mostly golden and that timing is almost everything in life. These two traits have served his personal career faithfully. But is it a curse of our times that thoughtfulness, self-serving expediency and a record of inflicting less harm than possible now define leadership?
Being lucky is often explained as being at the right place at the right time. By that definition Gen Kayani is one lucky man. He came to power when the rot created by Musharraf had begun to nauseate even the khakis. He was a breath of fresh air merely by virtue of being the one who pushed Musharraf into the wilderness. And he stayed in power at a time when the measure of his leadership was whether he was better or worse than Asif Zardari. So will Gen Kayani be remembered kindly by history because he was the lesser evil of his time?
Gen Kayani was appointed DG ISI in October 2004 and after three years he succeeded Musharraf as army chief in November 2007. In other words, Gen Kayani has been at the helm in our country at least since 2004 (even if not before as Corps Commander X Corps and DGMO) and a major actor in all that has transpired since. Let us take stock of his contribution to making Pakistan a more secure place, the institutional values that he cultivated within the army as its head, and his role in strengthening the rule of law and democracy.
Let us start with the bottom line. Are we better placed to confront threats to our national security — whether external or internal — today as opposed to when Gen Kayani first arrived on the horizon nearly a decade ago? There is general agreement that TTP-led terrorism poses an existential threat to our state and society now more than ever. This threat has steadily grown over the years. Is it good enough for Gen Kayani, who has effectively presided over our national security apparatus for years, to lay all blame for the lack of an anti-terrorism policy on blundering civilians?
The army did a great job in Swat. But if the idea was to deny militants their own emirates within Pakistan and clean out sanctuaries, why was North Waziristan not reclaimed after South? If non-state actors have become the bane of our security, why has the possibility of their use in future still not been banished from our national security mindset? In other words, if a flawed national security policy nurtured the monster of terrorism within Pakistan over the last three decades, how has such policy been reviewed and revised under Gen Kayani’s leadership?
And what about security and intelligence failures under Gen Kayani? The most ignominious catastrophes that come to mind include the GHQ attack in 2009, the US operation against Osama bin Laden in 2011, and the US-Nato Salala attack that claimed 24 Pakistani soldiers’ lives also in 2011. What are the two things common to all three? One, no one was ever held accountable for the colossal failures that shook public faith in the ability of the state to protect itself. And two, the most benevolent explanation for each was that we are incompetent not complicit.
Our armed forces appear more disciplined and efficient in a comparison between civil and military institutions. The reason for this relative efficiency is explained as being twofold: military promotions are on merit; and individuals are held to account for their acts and omissions. The latter rule might produce unjust results at times: the fate of an officer is sealed if he loses men under his command or presides over a failure even when not personally at fault. The message is simple: the commander is responsible for whatever transpires under his watch.
Has accountability as an institutional value been strengthened by Gen Kayani? Did he not promote the officer in charge of GHQ’s security when it was attacked in 2009? Did he not defend Gen Pasha when the country was aghast at the failure of our intelligence and security apparatus to either spot Bin Laden in the country or a foreign country carrying out a military operation across from the Pakistan Military Academy? Gen Kayani might have cultivated a new khaki tradition for the high command: whenever you falter or fail, it is someone else’s fault.
Gen Kayani mastered the art of projecting how he might have been in power but not responsible for any of the bad. Was he not DG ISI when Lal Masjid erupted a stone’s throw away from his Abpara office? Was he not in play as interlocutor in the NRO deal between Benazir Bhutto and Musharraf? If the judges were eventually restored in 2009 on his order, why did he stay mum on March 9, 2007, when the chief justice was first ousted, on Nov 3, 2007 when emergency-plus was imposed and judges arrested, or thereafter for almost two years?
Gen Kayani accepted a three-year extension against army tradition, losing respect of many he led, supposedly to rescue Pakistan from its national security nightmare. Three years later he has little to show for himself. If history deems Gen Kayani worth remembering at all, it should be as the status quo general who had a tremendous sense of timing and effectively transformed the monumental crises confronting his country into an opportunity for personal advancement for himself.
The writer is a lawyer.
sattar@post.harvard.edu
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babar_sattar
Babar Sattar
Published 2013-10-28
HOW will history judge Gen Kayani? Will he be remembered as a great army chief who was the soldiers’ soldier and improved the terms of service of the lower ranks? Will he be remembered as a great general who prevented Pakistan from going over the precipice while caught in the eye of the storm? Will he be remembered as a leader who resisted the temptation to launch a coup while confronted with sickly democracy and patiently steered civil-military relations in the right direction?
Gen Kayani comes across as an affable man. He seems to be someone who understands nuance and the grey in life. He reads and is thus better than those who don’t. He comprehends what he reads and this qualifies him as a thoughtful man. He understands that silence is mostly golden and that timing is almost everything in life. These two traits have served his personal career faithfully. But is it a curse of our times that thoughtfulness, self-serving expediency and a record of inflicting less harm than possible now define leadership?
Being lucky is often explained as being at the right place at the right time. By that definition Gen Kayani is one lucky man. He came to power when the rot created by Musharraf had begun to nauseate even the khakis. He was a breath of fresh air merely by virtue of being the one who pushed Musharraf into the wilderness. And he stayed in power at a time when the measure of his leadership was whether he was better or worse than Asif Zardari. So will Gen Kayani be remembered kindly by history because he was the lesser evil of his time?
Gen Kayani was appointed DG ISI in October 2004 and after three years he succeeded Musharraf as army chief in November 2007. In other words, Gen Kayani has been at the helm in our country at least since 2004 (even if not before as Corps Commander X Corps and DGMO) and a major actor in all that has transpired since. Let us take stock of his contribution to making Pakistan a more secure place, the institutional values that he cultivated within the army as its head, and his role in strengthening the rule of law and democracy.
Let us start with the bottom line. Are we better placed to confront threats to our national security — whether external or internal — today as opposed to when Gen Kayani first arrived on the horizon nearly a decade ago? There is general agreement that TTP-led terrorism poses an existential threat to our state and society now more than ever. This threat has steadily grown over the years. Is it good enough for Gen Kayani, who has effectively presided over our national security apparatus for years, to lay all blame for the lack of an anti-terrorism policy on blundering civilians?
The army did a great job in Swat. But if the idea was to deny militants their own emirates within Pakistan and clean out sanctuaries, why was North Waziristan not reclaimed after South? If non-state actors have become the bane of our security, why has the possibility of their use in future still not been banished from our national security mindset? In other words, if a flawed national security policy nurtured the monster of terrorism within Pakistan over the last three decades, how has such policy been reviewed and revised under Gen Kayani’s leadership?
And what about security and intelligence failures under Gen Kayani? The most ignominious catastrophes that come to mind include the GHQ attack in 2009, the US operation against Osama bin Laden in 2011, and the US-Nato Salala attack that claimed 24 Pakistani soldiers’ lives also in 2011. What are the two things common to all three? One, no one was ever held accountable for the colossal failures that shook public faith in the ability of the state to protect itself. And two, the most benevolent explanation for each was that we are incompetent not complicit.
Our armed forces appear more disciplined and efficient in a comparison between civil and military institutions. The reason for this relative efficiency is explained as being twofold: military promotions are on merit; and individuals are held to account for their acts and omissions. The latter rule might produce unjust results at times: the fate of an officer is sealed if he loses men under his command or presides over a failure even when not personally at fault. The message is simple: the commander is responsible for whatever transpires under his watch.
Has accountability as an institutional value been strengthened by Gen Kayani? Did he not promote the officer in charge of GHQ’s security when it was attacked in 2009? Did he not defend Gen Pasha when the country was aghast at the failure of our intelligence and security apparatus to either spot Bin Laden in the country or a foreign country carrying out a military operation across from the Pakistan Military Academy? Gen Kayani might have cultivated a new khaki tradition for the high command: whenever you falter or fail, it is someone else’s fault.
Gen Kayani mastered the art of projecting how he might have been in power but not responsible for any of the bad. Was he not DG ISI when Lal Masjid erupted a stone’s throw away from his Abpara office? Was he not in play as interlocutor in the NRO deal between Benazir Bhutto and Musharraf? If the judges were eventually restored in 2009 on his order, why did he stay mum on March 9, 2007, when the chief justice was first ousted, on Nov 3, 2007 when emergency-plus was imposed and judges arrested, or thereafter for almost two years?
Gen Kayani accepted a three-year extension against army tradition, losing respect of many he led, supposedly to rescue Pakistan from its national security nightmare. Three years later he has little to show for himself. If history deems Gen Kayani worth remembering at all, it should be as the status quo general who had a tremendous sense of timing and effectively transformed the monumental crises confronting his country into an opportunity for personal advancement for himself.
The writer is a lawyer.
sattar@post.harvard.edu
babar_sattar
fatman17
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Zia had the longest military career, Ayub the shortest
Pakistan’s 14 army chiefs to-date
Sabir Shah
Wednesday, October 09, 2013
LAHORE: Of the 14 army chiefs and commanders-in-chief that Pakistan has had since 1947, General Ziaul Haq (1924-1988) had the longest military career spread well over 45 years and three months, while Field Marshal General Muhammad Ayub Khan (1907-74) had the shortest service length of 30 years, 10 months and 24 days, a thorough research and calculation conducted by “The News International” reveals.
Zia was commissioned in the British Indian Army in a cavalry regiment on May 12, 1943 and had served against Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II, whereas Ayub Khan had started his military service on February 2, 1928.Both Zia and Ayub Khan had also served as country’s presidents in uniform.
As far as the longest tenure as Army Chief is concerned, General Zia-ul-Haq (1924-1988) again takes the lead. He had served on this key position between March 1, 1976 and August 17, 1988, which thereby signifies that his term in office had lasted 12 years, 5 months and 16 days.
General Gul Hassan (1921-1999) had served as the Commander-in-Chief for the shortest period of time. Appointed Acting Commander-in-Chief on December 20, 1971, Gul Hassan was notified as Commander-in-Chief on January 22, 1972 till his ouster on March 3, 1972. Inclusive of his tenure as Acting Commander-in-Chief, General Gul Hassan had served on this post for just two months and 11 days.
Here follow some more interesting facts about all Pakistani Army Chiefs and Commanders-in-Chief till date, especially with reference to the length of their military careers and their respective tenure as heads of the land-based uniform service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces:
General Sir Frank Walter Messervy (1893-1974) was the First Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army from August 15, 1947 to February 10, 1948. He had served for less than six months 175 days only to be more precise. He was commissioned in the Indian Army on January 21, 1913 and held the job till August 22, 1948, which means his career as a soldier was about 35 years, 7 months and one day long.
General Sir Douglas David Gracey (1894-1964), who had served in both First and Second World Wars, was the second Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan. He had remained in this office from February 11, 1948 to January 16, 1951. His tenure as Army Chief had lasted two years, 11 months and 5 days.
Gracey did not send troops to the Kashmir front and had refused to obey the order to do so given by Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the first Governor-General of Pakistan. Gracey had argued that Quaid-i-Azam, as Governor-General, represented the British Crown of which he himself was an appointee. Similar to Gracey, the early heads of Pakistan’s Air Force and Naval Force were Englishmen.
Gracey was commissioned in September 15, 1915, which means he had a military career of 35 years, 7 months and 14 days till April 29, 1951, when he had finally retired from service. He was born in Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh) to English parents living in India.
Field Marshal General Muhammad Ayub Khan (1907-74) was made Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army on January 17, 1951, succeeding General Sir Douglas Gracey, thus becoming the first native Pakistani General to hold this prestigious position. He was the third Commander-in-Chief.
Initially, it was General Iftikhar Khan who was promoted to four-star rank and appointed as first native Chief of Army Staff but he had died in an airplane crash en route to his senior officers training in the United Kingdom.
However, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan had appointed Ayub, preferring him to a few senior officers like being Major-General Major General Ishfakul Majid, Major General Akbar Khan and Major General N.A.M. Raza.
A self-appointed Field Marshal, the only such five-star rank in Pakistan’s military history, he was also the second President of Pakistan and its first military dictator from 1958 until his forced resignation in 1969.
He was appointed the first Chief Martial Law Administrator by President Iskander Mirza in 1958, a post he had retained until the promulgation of a new constitution in 1962. As Army Chief, Ayub Khan had served between January 17, 1951 and October 26, 1958. His tenure as Army Chief had lasted seven years, 9 months and 9 days. He got commission on February 2, 1928, which means his military career was 30 years, 10 months and 24 days long.
General Muhammad Musa Khan (1908-1991) had risen to the rank of the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces in October 1958, an office he had held till September 17, 1966. The term of this fourth Pakistani Commander-in-Chief had lasted around 7 years and 11 months. His promotion to Commander-in-Chief had seen suppression of his seniors including Major General Sher Ali Khan Pataudi, Major General Latif Khan and Major General Adam Khan.
General Musa had succeeded Field Marshal Ayub Khan, who assumed the Presidency of Pakistan. General Mohammed Musa had got commission from Indian Military Academy in Dehradun on February 1, 1935, which means his military career was 31 years, 6 months and 16 days long. After General Musa had retired from the Army, President Ayub Khan had appointed him as the Governor of West Pakistan from 1967 to 1969.
After serving for a few years, he retired and settled in Karachi. In 1985, he was once again involved in politics. He was appointed Governor of Balochistan by the then President General Zia-ul-Haq. In Balochistan, Governor General Musa dissolved the provincial assembly in December 1988. However, the Balochistan High Court restored the assembly amid public condemnation of Governor’s move. The step towards dissolving the assembly was believed to have been taken with the consent of the President and Prime Minister though.
Pakistan’s 14 army chiefs to-date
Sabir Shah
Wednesday, October 09, 2013
LAHORE: Of the 14 army chiefs and commanders-in-chief that Pakistan has had since 1947, General Ziaul Haq (1924-1988) had the longest military career spread well over 45 years and three months, while Field Marshal General Muhammad Ayub Khan (1907-74) had the shortest service length of 30 years, 10 months and 24 days, a thorough research and calculation conducted by “The News International” reveals.
Zia was commissioned in the British Indian Army in a cavalry regiment on May 12, 1943 and had served against Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II, whereas Ayub Khan had started his military service on February 2, 1928.Both Zia and Ayub Khan had also served as country’s presidents in uniform.
As far as the longest tenure as Army Chief is concerned, General Zia-ul-Haq (1924-1988) again takes the lead. He had served on this key position between March 1, 1976 and August 17, 1988, which thereby signifies that his term in office had lasted 12 years, 5 months and 16 days.
General Gul Hassan (1921-1999) had served as the Commander-in-Chief for the shortest period of time. Appointed Acting Commander-in-Chief on December 20, 1971, Gul Hassan was notified as Commander-in-Chief on January 22, 1972 till his ouster on March 3, 1972. Inclusive of his tenure as Acting Commander-in-Chief, General Gul Hassan had served on this post for just two months and 11 days.
Here follow some more interesting facts about all Pakistani Army Chiefs and Commanders-in-Chief till date, especially with reference to the length of their military careers and their respective tenure as heads of the land-based uniform service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces:
General Sir Frank Walter Messervy (1893-1974) was the First Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army from August 15, 1947 to February 10, 1948. He had served for less than six months 175 days only to be more precise. He was commissioned in the Indian Army on January 21, 1913 and held the job till August 22, 1948, which means his career as a soldier was about 35 years, 7 months and one day long.
General Sir Douglas David Gracey (1894-1964), who had served in both First and Second World Wars, was the second Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan. He had remained in this office from February 11, 1948 to January 16, 1951. His tenure as Army Chief had lasted two years, 11 months and 5 days.
Gracey did not send troops to the Kashmir front and had refused to obey the order to do so given by Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the first Governor-General of Pakistan. Gracey had argued that Quaid-i-Azam, as Governor-General, represented the British Crown of which he himself was an appointee. Similar to Gracey, the early heads of Pakistan’s Air Force and Naval Force were Englishmen.
Gracey was commissioned in September 15, 1915, which means he had a military career of 35 years, 7 months and 14 days till April 29, 1951, when he had finally retired from service. He was born in Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh) to English parents living in India.
Field Marshal General Muhammad Ayub Khan (1907-74) was made Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army on January 17, 1951, succeeding General Sir Douglas Gracey, thus becoming the first native Pakistani General to hold this prestigious position. He was the third Commander-in-Chief.
Initially, it was General Iftikhar Khan who was promoted to four-star rank and appointed as first native Chief of Army Staff but he had died in an airplane crash en route to his senior officers training in the United Kingdom.
However, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan had appointed Ayub, preferring him to a few senior officers like being Major-General Major General Ishfakul Majid, Major General Akbar Khan and Major General N.A.M. Raza.
A self-appointed Field Marshal, the only such five-star rank in Pakistan’s military history, he was also the second President of Pakistan and its first military dictator from 1958 until his forced resignation in 1969.
He was appointed the first Chief Martial Law Administrator by President Iskander Mirza in 1958, a post he had retained until the promulgation of a new constitution in 1962. As Army Chief, Ayub Khan had served between January 17, 1951 and October 26, 1958. His tenure as Army Chief had lasted seven years, 9 months and 9 days. He got commission on February 2, 1928, which means his military career was 30 years, 10 months and 24 days long.
General Muhammad Musa Khan (1908-1991) had risen to the rank of the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces in October 1958, an office he had held till September 17, 1966. The term of this fourth Pakistani Commander-in-Chief had lasted around 7 years and 11 months. His promotion to Commander-in-Chief had seen suppression of his seniors including Major General Sher Ali Khan Pataudi, Major General Latif Khan and Major General Adam Khan.
General Musa had succeeded Field Marshal Ayub Khan, who assumed the Presidency of Pakistan. General Mohammed Musa had got commission from Indian Military Academy in Dehradun on February 1, 1935, which means his military career was 31 years, 6 months and 16 days long. After General Musa had retired from the Army, President Ayub Khan had appointed him as the Governor of West Pakistan from 1967 to 1969.
After serving for a few years, he retired and settled in Karachi. In 1985, he was once again involved in politics. He was appointed Governor of Balochistan by the then President General Zia-ul-Haq. In Balochistan, Governor General Musa dissolved the provincial assembly in December 1988. However, the Balochistan High Court restored the assembly amid public condemnation of Governor’s move. The step towards dissolving the assembly was believed to have been taken with the consent of the President and Prime Minister though.
fatman17
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General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (1917-1980) became the fifth Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces on September 18, 1966 and held this office till December 20, 1971. His tenure as Army Chief was 5 years, 3 months and 2 days long. He had also served as the 3rd President of Pakistan from 1969 until East Pakistan’s secession in 1971. He had declared martial law for the second time in Pakistan’s history.
Yahya Khan was commissioned in British Army on July 15, 1939, which means his military career had spanned a period of 32 years, 5 months and 5 days.
In December 1971, during his tenure, Pakistan was defeated by India, with 93,000 of its Army personnel in Dhaka taken as prisoners-of-war. East Pakistan had then seceded to become Bangladesh. Yahya had then handed over the presidency to Bhutto and had stepped down as Army Chief in disgrace.
Bhutto had stripped Yahya of all previous military decorations and placed him under house arrest for most of the 1970s. When Bhutto was overthrown in a military coup in 1977, Yahya was released by General Ziaul Haq.
General Gul Hassan was appointed Acting Commander-in-Chief on December 20, 1971. He was appointed sixth Commander-in-Chief on January 22, 1972 till his ouster on March 3, 1972. Inclusive of his tenure as Acting Commander-in-Chief, General Gul Hassan had served on this post for just 2 months and 11 days.
This remains the minimum tenure of any Pakistani Army Chief till date. He was removed by the then President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto after the Hamoodur Rahman Commission, led by Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman, had recommended his sacking. In a trial led by JAG Branch, General Hassan Khan was immediately retired from the Army and further relieved from any benefits given to the retired officers. He was commissioned on February 22, 1942, which means his military career had spanned a period of 30 years and 9 days. He had also served as ADC to Governor-General Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
General Tikka Khan (1915-2002) was Pakistan’s seventh Chief of Army Staff from March 3, 1972 to March 1, 1976. He had served just two days less than 4 years.
He was commissioned on December 22, 1940, which means his military career had spanned over a period of 35 years, 2 months and 7 days. He fought in World War II as part of the Indian Army.
After his retirement, Tikka Khan was appointed Defence Minister by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. General Zia-ul-Haq’s July 1977 coup had led to the arrest of both Bhutto and General Tikka Khan. Bhutto was executed in 1979, after which General Tikka Khan had emerged as one of the leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), becoming its Secretary General, during a time when many of Bhutto’s trusted confidants had deserted this political entity.
General Tikka was imprisoned numerous times for his political activities during the late 1970s and 1980s, until Zia-ul-Haq died in August 1988 in an airplane crash.
General Tikka Khan was also appointed the Governor of Punjab in December 1988. When Tikka died on March 28, 2002, he had received a state burial. His funeral was attended by thousands of people, including the entire Pakistan Army hierarchy of the time.
General Zia-ul-Haq was appointed the eighth Chief of Army Staff on March 1, 1976. He remained in uniform till his accidental death on August 17, 1988. He remained in this office for 12 years, 5 months and 16 days.
At the time of his appointment, General Zia had superseded seven Generals. Those senior to General Zia were Messrs Muhammad Shariff, Muhammed Akbar Khan, Aftab Ahmed Khan, Azmat Baksh Awan, Agha Ibrahim Akram, Abdul Majeed Malik and Ghulam Jilani Khan.
The senior most at that time, Lieutenant-General Mohammad Shariff, though promoted to General, was made the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Zia was also the sixth President of Pakistan from September 16, 1978 until his accidental death on August 17, 1988.
He was Pakistan’s longest-serving head of state. He had declared the third martial law in the country’s history in 1977 after deposing an elected Premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Zia was commissioned in the British Indian Army in a cavalry regiment on May 12, 1943 and had served against Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II. So overall, his military career had spanned 45 years and 3 months.
General Mirza Aslam Beg (born 1931) was made the ninth Chief of Army Staff on August 17, 1988 and had remained in the office till August 1, 1992. His tenure had lasted just 16 days less than 4 years.
He got commission in Pakistan Army on August 23, 1952, which means his military career was spread over a period of nearly 40 years. Beg was denied an extension from President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in 1991.
Apart from his military career, Beg briefly tenured as professor of security studies at the National Defence University (NDU) and also wrote newspaper columns.
After retirement, he was accused of playing an internal role in the airplane crash that killed General Zia and was summoned to the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2012 for his alleged role in the Mehran Bank scandal, for bribing opposition politicians with millions of rupees prior to elections in 1990.
Upon returning to civilian life, General Beg founded and established a policy think-tank institute, known as Foundation for Research on International Environment National Development and Security (Friends).
General Asif Nawaz Janjua (1937-1993) was the 10th Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army from August 16, 1991 till his death in office on January 8, 1993. His term as Army Chief had lasted just one year, four months and 22 days.
He had suffered heart attack while he was jogging near his home in Rawalpindi. He is widely remembered as having died under mysterious circumstances. His widow demanded investigation and registration of a murder case. Former DG ISI Gen Asad Durrani had supported investigation in this case
General Janjua had got commission on March 31, 1957, which means his military career was spread over a period of 35 years, 9 months and 8 days.
One of his achievements as Chief of Pakistan Army was an anti-dacoit operation in Sindh, where he had deployed his best officers and direct orders were given to them to eliminate those dacoits from Dadu district.
General Abdul Wahid Kakar (born 1937) was made the eleventh Chief of Army Staff on January 12, 1993 and had held the office till January 12, 1996. His tenure as Army Chief was exactly three years long.
With Kakar’s appointment, at least four senior generals were superseded. These generals were Lt General Rehm Dil Bhatti, Lt General Mohammad Ashraf, Lt General Farrakh Khan and Lt General Arif Bangash. Among these generals, the last two had opted to stay in the Army.
Kakar got commission on October 18, 1959, which means his military career was spread over a period of 36 years, 2 months and 25 days.
General Wahid Kakar is remembered for starting the Shaheen Nuclear Missile Project. After taking over as COAS, Kakar had forced both Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Nawaz Sharif to tender their resignations at the height of the political and constitutional crisis in 1993.
General Jehangir Karamat (born 1941) was made the twelfth Chief of the Army Staff on January 12, 1996 and had held this office till October 7, 1998. He had served on this slot for 2 years, 8 months and 25 days.
Karamat got commission on October 14, 1961, which means he had a nearly 37-year long military career. After retiring from military service, he served as a professor of Political science at the National Defence University (NDU) in Islamabad.
In 2004, General Jehangir Karamat was appointed as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States where he served from November 2004 until June 2006. He is also one of very few army generals in the military history of Pakistan to have resigned over a disagreement with the civilian authorities.
In 1995, along with Major-General Ali Kuli Khan of Military Intelligence, General Karamat had exposed the attempted coup d’état against the government of the then Prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who had later conferred a national award on him.
General Pervez Musharraf (born 1943) was the 13th Chief of Army Staff from October 6, 1998 till November 28, 2007.
He served as Army Chief for 9 years, one month and 22 days. Nawaz Sharif had preferred him to General Ali Quli Khan and General Khalid Nawaz Khan.
He had also served as country’s 10th President from June 2001 to August 2008. He got commission in Kakul on April 19, 1964, which thereby means that Musharraf had a military career of 43 years, 7 months and 9 days. The sitting Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s military career would span a period of 42 years and exactly three months on November 29, 2013, when he has announced to step down as Pakistan’s 14th Army Chief after 42 days from now.
Born on April 20, 1952, General Kayani had joined the Pakistan Army on August 29, 1971. As Army Chief, he will have served for 6 years by November 29, 2013 or his due retirement date.
Yahya Khan was commissioned in British Army on July 15, 1939, which means his military career had spanned a period of 32 years, 5 months and 5 days.
In December 1971, during his tenure, Pakistan was defeated by India, with 93,000 of its Army personnel in Dhaka taken as prisoners-of-war. East Pakistan had then seceded to become Bangladesh. Yahya had then handed over the presidency to Bhutto and had stepped down as Army Chief in disgrace.
Bhutto had stripped Yahya of all previous military decorations and placed him under house arrest for most of the 1970s. When Bhutto was overthrown in a military coup in 1977, Yahya was released by General Ziaul Haq.
General Gul Hassan was appointed Acting Commander-in-Chief on December 20, 1971. He was appointed sixth Commander-in-Chief on January 22, 1972 till his ouster on March 3, 1972. Inclusive of his tenure as Acting Commander-in-Chief, General Gul Hassan had served on this post for just 2 months and 11 days.
This remains the minimum tenure of any Pakistani Army Chief till date. He was removed by the then President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto after the Hamoodur Rahman Commission, led by Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman, had recommended his sacking. In a trial led by JAG Branch, General Hassan Khan was immediately retired from the Army and further relieved from any benefits given to the retired officers. He was commissioned on February 22, 1942, which means his military career had spanned a period of 30 years and 9 days. He had also served as ADC to Governor-General Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
General Tikka Khan (1915-2002) was Pakistan’s seventh Chief of Army Staff from March 3, 1972 to March 1, 1976. He had served just two days less than 4 years.
He was commissioned on December 22, 1940, which means his military career had spanned over a period of 35 years, 2 months and 7 days. He fought in World War II as part of the Indian Army.
After his retirement, Tikka Khan was appointed Defence Minister by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. General Zia-ul-Haq’s July 1977 coup had led to the arrest of both Bhutto and General Tikka Khan. Bhutto was executed in 1979, after which General Tikka Khan had emerged as one of the leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), becoming its Secretary General, during a time when many of Bhutto’s trusted confidants had deserted this political entity.
General Tikka was imprisoned numerous times for his political activities during the late 1970s and 1980s, until Zia-ul-Haq died in August 1988 in an airplane crash.
General Tikka Khan was also appointed the Governor of Punjab in December 1988. When Tikka died on March 28, 2002, he had received a state burial. His funeral was attended by thousands of people, including the entire Pakistan Army hierarchy of the time.
General Zia-ul-Haq was appointed the eighth Chief of Army Staff on March 1, 1976. He remained in uniform till his accidental death on August 17, 1988. He remained in this office for 12 years, 5 months and 16 days.
At the time of his appointment, General Zia had superseded seven Generals. Those senior to General Zia were Messrs Muhammad Shariff, Muhammed Akbar Khan, Aftab Ahmed Khan, Azmat Baksh Awan, Agha Ibrahim Akram, Abdul Majeed Malik and Ghulam Jilani Khan.
The senior most at that time, Lieutenant-General Mohammad Shariff, though promoted to General, was made the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Zia was also the sixth President of Pakistan from September 16, 1978 until his accidental death on August 17, 1988.
He was Pakistan’s longest-serving head of state. He had declared the third martial law in the country’s history in 1977 after deposing an elected Premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Zia was commissioned in the British Indian Army in a cavalry regiment on May 12, 1943 and had served against Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II. So overall, his military career had spanned 45 years and 3 months.
General Mirza Aslam Beg (born 1931) was made the ninth Chief of Army Staff on August 17, 1988 and had remained in the office till August 1, 1992. His tenure had lasted just 16 days less than 4 years.
He got commission in Pakistan Army on August 23, 1952, which means his military career was spread over a period of nearly 40 years. Beg was denied an extension from President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in 1991.
Apart from his military career, Beg briefly tenured as professor of security studies at the National Defence University (NDU) and also wrote newspaper columns.
After retirement, he was accused of playing an internal role in the airplane crash that killed General Zia and was summoned to the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2012 for his alleged role in the Mehran Bank scandal, for bribing opposition politicians with millions of rupees prior to elections in 1990.
Upon returning to civilian life, General Beg founded and established a policy think-tank institute, known as Foundation for Research on International Environment National Development and Security (Friends).
General Asif Nawaz Janjua (1937-1993) was the 10th Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army from August 16, 1991 till his death in office on January 8, 1993. His term as Army Chief had lasted just one year, four months and 22 days.
He had suffered heart attack while he was jogging near his home in Rawalpindi. He is widely remembered as having died under mysterious circumstances. His widow demanded investigation and registration of a murder case. Former DG ISI Gen Asad Durrani had supported investigation in this case
General Janjua had got commission on March 31, 1957, which means his military career was spread over a period of 35 years, 9 months and 8 days.
One of his achievements as Chief of Pakistan Army was an anti-dacoit operation in Sindh, where he had deployed his best officers and direct orders were given to them to eliminate those dacoits from Dadu district.
General Abdul Wahid Kakar (born 1937) was made the eleventh Chief of Army Staff on January 12, 1993 and had held the office till January 12, 1996. His tenure as Army Chief was exactly three years long.
With Kakar’s appointment, at least four senior generals were superseded. These generals were Lt General Rehm Dil Bhatti, Lt General Mohammad Ashraf, Lt General Farrakh Khan and Lt General Arif Bangash. Among these generals, the last two had opted to stay in the Army.
Kakar got commission on October 18, 1959, which means his military career was spread over a period of 36 years, 2 months and 25 days.
General Wahid Kakar is remembered for starting the Shaheen Nuclear Missile Project. After taking over as COAS, Kakar had forced both Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Nawaz Sharif to tender their resignations at the height of the political and constitutional crisis in 1993.
General Jehangir Karamat (born 1941) was made the twelfth Chief of the Army Staff on January 12, 1996 and had held this office till October 7, 1998. He had served on this slot for 2 years, 8 months and 25 days.
Karamat got commission on October 14, 1961, which means he had a nearly 37-year long military career. After retiring from military service, he served as a professor of Political science at the National Defence University (NDU) in Islamabad.
In 2004, General Jehangir Karamat was appointed as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States where he served from November 2004 until June 2006. He is also one of very few army generals in the military history of Pakistan to have resigned over a disagreement with the civilian authorities.
In 1995, along with Major-General Ali Kuli Khan of Military Intelligence, General Karamat had exposed the attempted coup d’état against the government of the then Prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who had later conferred a national award on him.
General Pervez Musharraf (born 1943) was the 13th Chief of Army Staff from October 6, 1998 till November 28, 2007.
He served as Army Chief for 9 years, one month and 22 days. Nawaz Sharif had preferred him to General Ali Quli Khan and General Khalid Nawaz Khan.
He had also served as country’s 10th President from June 2001 to August 2008. He got commission in Kakul on April 19, 1964, which thereby means that Musharraf had a military career of 43 years, 7 months and 9 days. The sitting Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s military career would span a period of 42 years and exactly three months on November 29, 2013, when he has announced to step down as Pakistan’s 14th Army Chief after 42 days from now.
Born on April 20, 1952, General Kayani had joined the Pakistan Army on August 29, 1971. As Army Chief, he will have served for 6 years by November 29, 2013 or his due retirement date.
No,not "all"of them are exceptional officers and atleast 3 of them are not even fit for promotion. I dont know how people keep comparing the top 5? 1 is exceptional, rest are the same ( avg ).
notorious_eagle
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When you make such an audacious claim, you are supposed to back it up with logic and evidence.
All 5 of these Officers are three stars. Anyone that makes it to a 3 Star has proven himself to be a competent and capable Officer. A Corp Commander essentially leads a Mini Army with more than 60 000 troops under his command. An Officers true merit is tested there, and if he can execute his duties seamlessly, that means he is competent enough to be the COAS. All 5 of these Officers have served at very important and distinguished Posts, this effectively nullifies your argument that 3 of them are not fit for promotion.
I would really like to know on what merits are you basing your argument on?
In that case are all Colonels fit to be brigadiers? And are all brigadiers fit to be GOCs? Do all GOCs become commanders? Use some common sense! The same logic applies here! So when seniority doesnt apply there, how does it apply here? So according to your logic , every1 till date shouldve been promoted to rank of corp commander and all of them shouldve made it to the next rank because they command mini army's. How about judging by performance? Have all these people served in waziristan? Face it thats where the real issue is!
mave
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I see Lt -Gen.Haroon Aslam promoting him self for COAS on different forums making him self look like some mr bond from SSG and claiming he is the senior most so he is fit for the job when he has got 3 months to retire. In fact the situation is totally different as the country is in a state of war and we have security issues and this kind of scenario Gen Haroon is not capable to handle and please remember the SSG always does targeted operations - they are not the fighting force, so we see only one man out of all that is LT.GEN Tariq Khan commander 1 corps the striking force. Furthermore Mian Nawaz Sharif having not good experiences with SSG in the past will never do this mistake again, he also needs a strong COAS like General Tariq Khan to handle the chaotic situation in the country which will benefit him to save his own government. So General Tariq Khan is the right person for the right job at the moment. P.S PLEASE DONT TRUST ARAB NEWS.
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Bono
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Excellent Post
Makes sense!
alibaz
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I don't think that General Haroon was born in SSG and had been conducting raids and ambushes with few men throughout his service and now from SSG he has become CLS. Sir he had done courses, remained on command and staff appointments in infantry regiments, brigades , division and corps, which any officer can think of. If he has served in SSG for few years doesn't mean he doesn't have experience of planning and execution of standard operations. If you want to see TK as COAS then I can understand your point but please don't undermine capabilities and potentials all 4/5 generals in the run rest assure they all are very fine officers and have full potential to command this army. PM has prerogative to select any one out of three names forwarded in panel or send back the list for another panel. What if a General Kiyani sends panel of first three senior most ( gen Haroon, gen Rashid and gen raheel)
That is not exactly the way promotion goes.. but your point might have merit in that fact that merit plays a lesser role going from Brig to general than it does all the way up. So yes, those that made Brig did have enough green marks during their tenure as colonel to do so. Above that however(just as in any organization).. who you know above you starts to matter.
fatman17
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up to the rank of Brig, its through the promotions board and mostly on merit. at this stage all the laggards are weeded out, leaving the 'cream' to then be selected upwards. having said that all 2-star and 3-star officers dont come up to the expectations - only a few do. having said that, all promotions to 2-star and above are based on merit but also on 'networking', key posts held, likes and dislikes.
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