Chief of the General Staff (Pakistan) explained
| Post: | Chief of General Staff |
| Flag: | Flag of the Pakistani Army.svg |
| Flagborder: | yes |
| Flagcaption: | Flag of the Pakistan Army |
| Incumbent: | Lt-Gen. Muhammad Avais Dastgir |
| Incumbentsince: | 28 November 2023 |
| Type: | Principal Staff Officer |
| Abbreviation: | CGS |
| Reports To: | COAS |
| Seat: | GHQ (Pakistan Army) |
| Appointer: | COAS |
| First: | Major General Ross Cairns McCay |
Chief of the General Staff (abbreviated as CGS) is the most coveted position within the Pakistan Army after that of the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS). Although the COAS is the head of the land forces, the CGS is "the organizational lead on both intelligence and operations", hence being in charge of the Military Intelligence (MI) and Military Operations (MO) Directorates.[1] Since 1985, a three-star rank Lt. Gen. is appointed to the post.
History
The criteria for the positions of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) have a preference that the officer should have served as the Chief of General Staff. Of the last 13 four-star rank army generals, eight officers had served a tenure as the CGS. Of the five who hadn't, Pervez Musharraf and Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had served as Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), while Ehsan ul Haq had served as Director General of Military Intelligence (DGMI), all two-star postings under the CGS.
Historically, the Chief of General Staff, in addition to Commander, X Corps have political significance when the army chief wanted to overthrow political leadership. The 1999 Pakistani coup d'état, which brought General Pervez Musharraf to power had active involvement of Lt Gen Muhammad Aziz Khan, then CGS and Lt Gen Mahmud Ahmed, commander of the X Corps.
Therefore, the army chief essentially appoints his most trusted aides for these two postings before making a routine reshuffle. Gen Ziauddin Butt, who was nominated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after retiring Pervez Musharraf, passed his first orders to appoint Lt Gen Muhammad Akram as CGS and Lt Gen Salim Haider as commander, X Corps. But before this order could be conveyed to the rest of the army, Aziz and Mahmud took steps to reverse the order by overthrowing the government and thus essentially starting the 1999 coup.
List of Chiefs of General Staff
| Portrait | Name | Start of term | End of term | Unit of Commission |
|---|
| 1 | | Major GeneralRoss Cairns McCay[2] | 1948 | 1951 | 6th Rajputana Rifles |
| 2 | | Major GeneralAkbar Khan, | 1951 | 1951 | 6/13 Frontier Force Rifles (1 FF) |
| 3 | | Major GeneralMohammad Yusuf Khan | 26 March 1951[3] | 1953 | |
| 4 | | Major GeneralMian Hayaud Din
| 1953 | 1955 | 4/12 Frontier Force Regiment (6FF) |
| 5 | | Major General Sher Ali Khan Pataudi
HJ
| 1955 | 1957 | |
| 6 | | Major GeneralYahya Khan | 25 July 1957[4] | 23 December 1962 | 4th Battalion (Duke of Connaught's Own) The Baluch Regiment (11 Baluch) |
| 7 | | Major GeneralMalik Sher Bahadur | 24 December 1962[5] | 1966 | 4th Battalion (Duke of Connaught's Own) The Baluch Regiment (11 Baluch) |
| 8 | | Major GeneralSahabzada Yaqub Khan
SPk | 1966 | 19 December 1968 | 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry |
| 9 | | Major GeneralGul Hassan Khan
SQA SPk | 20 December 1968[6] | 19 December 1971 | 5th Horse (Probyn's Horse) |
| 10 | | Major GeneralM. Rahim Khan | 1972 | 1974 | |
| 11 | | Major GeneralMuhammad Iqbal Khan, | July 1974 | March 1976 | 5th Battalion (Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides) 12 Frontier Force Regiment (2 FF) |
| 12 | | Major GeneralAbdullah Malik | March 1976 | March 1978 | |
| 13 | | Major GeneralF. S. Lodhi | March 1978 | June 1980 | East Bengal Regiment |
| 14 | | Major GeneralMirza Aslam Beg, | June 1980 | October 1985 | 16 Baloch Regiment |
| 15 | | Lieutenant GeneralMuhammad Safdar | October 1987 | January 1988 | Punjab Regiment |
| 16 | | Lieutenant General Mian Muhammad Afzaal, | January 1988 | August 1988 | |
| 17 | | Lieutenant GeneralShamim Alam Khan, | May 1989 | April 1991 | 20th Lancers |
| 18 | | Lieutenant GeneralAsif Nawaz Janjua, | April 1991 | August 1991 | 5 Punjab Regiment |
| 19 | | Lieutenant GeneralFarrakh Khan | August 1991 | July 1994 | 15th Lancers |
| 20 | | Lieutenant General Jehangir Karamat, | July 1994 | January 1996 | |
| 21 | | Lieutenant GeneralIftikhar Ali Khan, | January 1996 | May 1997 | 11 Baloch Regiment |
| 22 | | Lieutenant GeneralAli Kuli Khan Khattak, | May 1997 | October 1998 | |
| 23 | | Lieutenant GeneralMuhammad Aziz Khan, | October 1998 | August 2000 | 12 Punjab Regiment |
| 24 | | Lieutenant GeneralMuhammad Yusaf Khan | August 2000 | October 2001 | The Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force) |
| 25 | | Lieutenant GeneralShahid Aziz | October 2001 | December 2003 | 10th Baloch Regiment |
| 26 | | Lieutenant GeneralTariq Majid, | December 2003 | October 2006 | 28 Baloch Regiment |
| 27 | | Lieutenant GeneralSalahuddin Satti | October 2006 | October 2008 | 40 Punjab Regiment |
| 28 | | Lieutenant GeneralMuhammad Mustafa Khan | October 2008 | April 2010 | |
| 29 | | Lieutenant General Khalid Shameem Wynne, | April 2010 | October 2010 | 20 Punjab Regiment |
| 30 | | Lieutenant General Waheed Arshad,
| October 2010 | January 2013 | 16 Horse |
| 31 | | Lieutenant General Rashad Mahmood, | January 2013 | November 2013 | 7 Baloch Regiment |
| 32 | | Lieutenant General Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmad,
| November 2013 | April 2015 | |
| 33 | | Lieutenant General Zubair Mahmood Hayat,
| April 2015 | November 2016 | 3 (Self Propelled) Medium Regiment Artillery |
| 34 | | Lieutenant General Bilal Akbar
| December 2016 | August 2018 | Corps of Artillery |
| 35 | | Lieutenant General Nadeem Raza,
| August 2018 | November 2019 | 10 Sind Regiment |
| 36 | | Lieutenant GeneralSahir Shamshad Mirza | November 2019 | September 2021 | 8 Sind Regiment |
| 37 | | Lieutenant General Azhar Abbas
| 8 September 2021 | December 2022 | 41 Baloch Regiment |
| 38 | | Lieutenant GeneralMuhammad Saeed | December 2022 | November 2023 | 10 Sind Regiment |
| 39 | | Lieutenant General Avais Dastgir | November 2023 | Incumbent | | |
See also
Notes
1.Later promoted to lieutenant general in-office.
2.Later promoted to the post of a general.
3.Later promoted to Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee.
References
- Web site: Who will be the next army chief?. Baqir Sajjad. Syed. Aug 14, 2016. DAWN.COM. Aug 3, 2020.
- Web site: Biography of Lieutenant-General Ross Cairns McCay (1895 – 1969), Great Britain . generals.dk . 31 December 2023.
- Book: The Army List. 1952. 112.
- Book: The Army List. 123. 1960.
- Book: The Army List. 85. 1964.
- Book: The Army List. 99. 1969.
External links
