Chief of General Staff (abbreviated as CGS) is the most coveted position within the
Pakistan Army after that of the
Chief of Army Staff (COAS). Although four-star
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) is the head of the land forces, CGS is "the organisational lead on both intelligence and operations" hence being in charge of the MI (Military Intelligence) and MO (Military Operations) Directorates.
Since 1985 a three-star
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
is appointed to the post of CGS.
History
The selection for
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and
Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) have a preference for the officer candidate having served as the Chief of General Staff. Of the last 13
four-star army generals, eight officers had served a tenure as the CGS. Of the five who hadn't,
Pervez Musharraf
General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...
and
Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (Urdu: ; born 20 April 1952), is a retired four-star general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 8th Chief of Army Staff , being appointed on 29 November 2007 after his predecessor Pervez Musharraf retired fro ...
had served as Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), while
Ehsan ul Haq
General Ehsan ul Haq NI(M), HI(M) ( ur, ; b. 22 September 1949), is a retired four-star rank army general in the Pakistan Army and a public official, served as the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, appointed in October 2005 ...
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
The 1999 military takeover in Pakistan was a bloodless ''coup d'état'' initiated by the military staff at the Joint Staff HQ working under Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Pervez Musharraf. The instigators seized c ...
, which brought General
Pervez Musharraf
General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...
to power had active involvement of
Lt Gen
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Muhammad Aziz Khan
General Muhammad Aziz Khan ( ur, ; 1 January 1947), best known as Aziz Khan, is a retired four-star rank army general in the Pakistan Army who served as the 11th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, appointed in October 2001 u ...
, then CGS and
Lt Gen
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Mahmud Ahmed
Lieutenant General Mahmud Ahmed ( ur, ; b. 1944) is a retired three-star rank army general in the Pakistan Army who served as the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence from 1999 to 2001.
He played a crucial role in sponsorsh ...
, Commander of the
X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to:
France
* 10th Army Corps (France)
* X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
Germany
* X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army
* ...
.
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
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime minister of Pak ...
after retiring
Pervez Musharraf
General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...
, 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
See also
*
Vice Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan)
The Vice chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) is the post that is principal deputy and second-in-command (S-in-C) of the Pakistan Army, reporting under the Chief of Army Staff. The position was created in the existence of army chief is simultaneously t ...
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
External links
Official Pakistan Army website
{{Pakistan Army template
Pakistan Army
Pakistani military appointments