Lieutenant-General Farrakh Khan (12 December 1938 – 25 June 2016), was a three-star rank

army general Army general is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System.　 In countries that adopt the general officer four rank system, it is rank of general commanding an army in the field, but in coun ...

in the Pakistan Army who was notable for his tenureship as the Chief of General Staff (CGS) at the Army GHQ from 1991 to 1994.

Biography

Farrakh Khan studied at

Army Burn Hall College Army Burn Hall College (; commonly referred to as Burn Hall and abbreviated as ABHC) is a highly selective, Pakistan Army-administered day and boarding school and college in Abbottabad, Pakistan. It was founded in 1943 by members of Saint J ...

before joining the Pakistan Army in 1954, and entered the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy ( ur, ), also referred to by its acronym PMA. PMA is an officers training school located near Kakul village in the city and district of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa established in 1947. It is the sole service academy ...

Kakul Kakul (Kakol) is a village situated in the Tehsil and District Abbottabad, at an elevation of 1300 metres, 5 km northeast of center of Abbottabad city near the Thandiani Hills. Abbottabad is a District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Paki ...

in 1956 where he passed out of the class of 20th PMA Long Course in 1959, and gained commission in the

15th Lancers The 15th Lancers (Baloch) is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 17th Cavalry and the 37th Lancers (Baluch Horse).Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottaba ...

of the

Armoured Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armou ...

. At the PMA, 2nd-Lt Khan was notable for his role as a peer leader among the military cadets, serving as their section leader. He attended the Command and Staff College in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and earned master's degree from the National Defence University in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

. During the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

with

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1965,

Capt. Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Khan served as one of the commanding officers in the 24th Cavalry in

Frontier Force Regiment The Frontier Force Regiment is one of the six infantry regiments of the Pakistan Army. They are popularly known as the ''Piffers'' in reference to their military history as the PIF ( Punjab Irregular Force) of the British Indian Army, or as th ...

. In the view of

Mahmud Ali Durrani Mahmud Ali Durrani ( ur, محمود علی درانی; born 1941), is a retired Pakistani two-star rank general officer, author of security studies, and a former National Security Advisor to the Pakistani government, serving from 2008 until h ...

, the former

NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

Pakistan government The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territories ...

Khan was noted for his leadership in maintaining the performance of the tanks in the

and was quoted: "With an excellent commanding officer and sound senior officers, our Regiment 25 Cavalry was jelled into a highly professional force which proved its mettle in the 1965 war with India and earned the title of 'Men of Steel'." He later served in the Western front of the third war with

in 1971. In 1984,

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Khan took over the command of the Army Rangers on Punjab section and served until 1985, when he was elevated as a military secretary at the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi. In 1985, Maj-Gen Khan was elevated as GOC of the 6th Armoured Division in

Kharian Kharian ( ur, ), is a city located within the Gujrat District of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Kharian is the headquarters of Kharian Tehsil. According to 2017 Census of Pakistan, it has a population of about 87,419. It is known as Littl ...

, and oversaw the combat deployment in response to the massive military exercise by the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

in 1985–86. In 1988–1991, Lieutenant-General Khan was appointed as the Field Commander of the

XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to: * 11th Army Corps (France) * XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

, stationed in

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

Chief of General Staff

In 1991, Lt-Gen. Khan was appointed as the Chief of General Staff (CGS) at the Army GHQ under Chief of Army Staff General Asif Nawaz. After the sudden death of General Asif, Lt-Gen. Khan was one of the five most senior army generals in the race for the promotion to

four-star rank A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the armed services, having ranks such as (full) admiral, (full) general, colonel general, army ge ...

. Due to his office stature of Chief of General Staff, Lt-Gen. Khan had met both the necessary seniority and profound ability to become the army chief, despite the senior most Lt-Gen.

Javed Nasir Lieutenant-General Javed Nasir ( Urdu: جاويد ناصر; born 1936) ), is a Pakistani retired engineering officer who served as the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), appointed on 14 March 1992 until 13 May 1993. Known ...

who was overlooked and never considered for this appointment. His closeness and impartiality on issues between President Ghulam Ishaq and Prime Minister Sharif, Lt-Gen. Khan were eventually overlooked and subsequently superseded by retiring though junior-most Lt-Gen.

Abdul Waheed Kakar General Abdul Waheed Kakar ( ur, ; born 23 March 1937), was a senior officer of the Pakistan Army who served as the 5th Chief of Army Staff, appointed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on 12 January 1993 upon death of his predecessor Asif Nawaz ...

for the appointment of army chief by President Ghulam Ishaq. Eventually, General Kakar was appointed and elevated as

four-star general A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the armed services, having ranks such as (full) admiral, (full) general, colonel general, army ge ...

in the army, and became the army chief in 1994. Lt-Gen. Khan decided to serve in his capacity despite being superseded, and eventually retired in 1994, completing 40 years of military service with the army.

Death

He died at the CMH (

Combined Military Hospital Combined Military Hospitals ( ur, , abbreviated as CMH) are Pakistan Armed Forces hospitals situated in various cantonments of Pakistan. History During the British Raj, the British Indian Army troops depended for their medical treatment enti ...

), Rawalpindi,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, on Saturday, 25 June 2016.'The News' Islamabad, Sunday, 26 June, page 3 Obituary; 'The Rawalpindi Evening Post', 25 June 2016; several news channels in Pakistan His was buried in the Army Graveyard, Rawalpindi on 26 June 2016.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Farrakh 1938 births 2016 deaths People from Attock District Pakistan Military Academy alumni Tank commanders Pakistani military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Pakistani expatriates in Canada National Defence University, Pakistan alumni Pakistani generals Army Burn Hall College alumni

Biography

Chief of General Staff

Death

See also

References

External links