Lt. General Muhammad Safdar ( Punjabi and ur, ) (1 December 1936 - 26 April 2022) was the former Governor of Punjab, the largest province of Pakistan, having served from 1999 to 2001. He had previously also served as the Pakistani Ambassador to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and the

Vice Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

of Punjab University during 1993.

Army career

Muhammad Safdar belongs to Dulmial, Chakwal Pakistan and is a graduate of

Military College Jhelum Military College Jhelum (MCJ) is a feeder military Intermediate College, in Sarai Alamgir, Pakistan. Though it is physically located in Gujrat District, due to its very close proximity it is still associated with the City of Jhelum, and is c ...

. Later he joined

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

. During his military career, Safdar commanded an infantry brigade and the 7th Infantry Division, Peshawar, served as commandant of the Command and Staff College, Quetta from 1982 to 1985 and then reached his professional peak as Chief of General Staff (CGS) in the GHQ having served there from 1986 to 1988. His last military appointment was commandant of the National Defence College from 1988 to 1989. Safdar retired from active service in July 1989.

Political career

Safdar was the Pakistani ambassador to

, vice-chancellor of the Punjab University and then Governor of Punjab. The general stayed as the Governor of Punjab till 29 October 2001, when he was replaced by Lahore Corps Commander Lt. Gen.

Khalid Maqbool Lieutenant General Khalid Maqbool Vohra, ( Punjabi and ur, ) (born 1948) is Pakistani military officer who served as Governor of Punjab between October 2001 and May 2008. He is the longest serving Governor of Punjab in Pakistani history. ...

Views

Brigadier (r)

Shaukat Qadir Shaukat Qadir is an independent Risk and Security Analyst who works generally in South Asia, particularly in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He started his career as a pilot in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and then moved to the Pakistan Army. He reti ...

, a political and defence analyst, had this to say about command attributes of Safdar, "In the course of my career I came across very few inspiring senior officers; most noteworthy among them was General Safdar, who later became VC Punjab University and, very briefly, Governor Punjab, and whose extraordinary dynamism in peace inspired one to believe that he would be a success in war."Shaukat Qadir
"Command attributes (III)"
''Daily Times'', 17 May 2008 Brigadier (r) Raja Azizur Rehman, a close friend and colleague of the governor, said this about the new governor when he was appointed in 1999, "he is consistent, professionally very sound, cool and calm. Has immense capacity for work and excels in shifting the essentials. He is soft-spoken and likes to listen, He carries a very happy team. He is very clear about his objectives and leaves no stone unturned to achieve that." The general is reputed to be well versed in the art of getting things done.

References

External links

Profile of the governor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Safdar, Muhammad Punjabi people Pakistani generals Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz Governors of Punjab, Pakistan Living people Ambassadors of Pakistan to Morocco Vice-Chancellors of the University of the Punjab 1936 births