Lieutenant-General Nadeem Ahmad (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' HI(M), SE, TBt) is a retired senior three-star ranking

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

officer who is famed and widely honored for planning and coordinating the relief and reconstruction non-combatant military operations after the devastating

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

of October 2005. Securing the appointment as the director of Federal Relief Commission of Pakistan Army, his credentials secured him the directorship of the

Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority Earthquake Reconstruction & Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) ( ur, ) is an independent, autonomous, and federal institution of Pakistan tasked and responsible for the operational planning, coordinating, monitoring, and regulating the reconstruct ...

(ERRA). After serving in the military for nearly 40 years, he was duly appointed as the chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA); his efforts included the successful disaster management and preparations to contain the nationwide

2010 floods 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

and coordinate the rescue operations in the

Hunza Valley The Hunza Valley ( bsk, , Wakhi: '; ur, ) is a mountainous valley in the northern part of the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, formed by the Hunza River, bordering Ishkoman to the northwest, Shigar to the southeast, Afghanistan's Wa ...

Attabad Lake Attabad Lake ( ur, ) is a lake located in the Gojal region of Hunza Valley in Gilgit−Baltistan, Pakistan. It was created in January 2010 as the result of a major landslide in Attabad. The lake has become one of the biggest tourist attra ...

, and the Airblue crash. His other military staff appointments included the directorship of the

Anti-Narcotics Force The Anti-Narcotics Force ( ur, , reporting name: ''ANF'') is a federal executive bureau of the Government of Pakistan, tasked with combating the narcotics smuggling and use within Pakistan. ANF works under the umbrella of Pakistan Army and Mi ...

(ANF) and the vice-chief of general staff at the Army combatant headquarters (GHQ). His last military assignments included the field operations commander of the I Strike Corps at Mangla Cantt, until his retirement in May 2010. He commanded military operations in the war in north-west fronts and was the battlefield commander of the Special Support Group (SSG) for

IDPs An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. A ...

affected by the successful military operations in Swat and

Waziristan Waziristan (Pashto and ur, , "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region covering the former FATA agencies of North Waziristan and South Waziristan which are now districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Waziristan covers some . ...

Career in the military

Nadeem Ahmad was commissioned in the Pakistan Army on 12 December 1971 in the 48th PMA Long Course in the

Baloch Regiment The Baloch Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army. The modern regiment was formed in May 1956 by the merger of 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments with the Baluch Regiment. Since then, further raisings have brought the strength of ...

, which later became the Sind Regiment. He commanded the Lahore Infantry Division as well as Force Commander Northern Areas (FCNA) in Gilgit from 2001 to 2003 and then as director general of the

(DG ANF) from 2003 to 2005. He was then called back into the Army and served as the Vice Chief of General Staff (VCGS) from 2005 to 2006. He was serving as VCGS when the fateful earthquake hit the Kashmir region on 8 October 2005. He later served as commander of the

Mangla Mangla (منگلا) is a town situated in District Mirpur within the region of Azad Kashmir. The village is located in the west of the foothills of Mangla's fort (which also derived its name from the same village). It is surrounded on three side ...

Corps from 2007 to 2009. Nadeem Ahmad is a graduate of Command and Staff College, Quetta and

College of EME The College of Electrical & Mechanical Engineering (CEME) ( ur, ) is a constituent college of the National University of Sciences and Technology, located in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The campus is on the main Peshawar Road, near the M-2 motorwa ...

, Rawalpindi besides holding two master's degrees in war studies, and strategic studies from National Defence College, Islamabad and

U.S. Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military officer ...

, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He is also recipient of an Honorary Doctorate in Disaster Management from University of Huddersfield, UK.

Chief Military Coordinator of Federal Relief Commission (FRC)

Following the devastating Pakistan earthquake that killed 73,338 people, injured 128,304, and rendered 3.5 million people homeless, then Maj-Gen Nadeem Ahmad (close friend of Nadeem Ahmed Advocate) was appointed Chief Military Coordinator for the Military Wing of the Federal Relief Commission (FRC). The FRC at that time was headed by Lt Gen (R) Farooq Ahmad Khan, who was in-charge of relief efforts from the civilian side. Maj-Gen Nadeem and the Pakistan Army worked with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

and other representatives of national and international agencies, donor countries and NGOs, to plan and implement the massive relief operations. He is credited by some in the international community as having been the key player in organizing the Pakistan Government's response to the earthquake.

Deputy Chairman ERRA

Following the relief phase, Nadeem was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed deputy chairman of Pakistan's

Earthquake Reconstruction & Rehabilitation Authority Earthquake Reconstruction & Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) ( ur, ) is an independent, autonomous, and federal institution of Pakistan tasked and responsible for the operational planning, coordinating, monitoring, and regulating the reconstruct ...

(ERRA), the organization responsible for the $5bn reconstruction efforts. Under his leadership, ERRA planned, funded and implemented programmes for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the devastated region of North West Frontier Province and Kashmir in twelve key sectors of Health, Education, Water & Sanitation, Social Protection, Telecommunications, Industry & Tourism, Livelihoods, Agriculture, Governance, Roads & Transportation, Power, and Environment, with cross-cutting themes of Gender Equity and Disaster Risk Reduction.

Chairman Special Support Group for IDPs

On 11 May 2009, the

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pa ...

Yousuf Raza Gilani Yusuf Raza Gilani (Urdu: ; born 9 June 1952), is a Pakistani politician who served as 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 25 March 2008, until his retroactive disqualification and ouster by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 26 April 2012. He ...

, appointed General Nadeem to head a Special Support Group (SSG) for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at Federal Government level, to support to Provincial efforts to assist people displaced by the fighting in the Swat region of

North West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followin ...

(NWFP). The Support Group's worked with government's agencies and departments, military, donors and international humanitarian organizations and communities, and to organise an International Donors Conference to raise funds to assist the IDPs. The Special Support Group is crowned for the successful return of over two million IDPs to Swat Region within a short period of two months. The Special Support Group led the relief efforts for the dislocated families of Waziristan. Headquartered in Peshawar, it was the focal point for all operations relating to IDPs in Pakistan. Under the guidance and direction of chairman, the Special Support Group set new standards in Internally Displaced Persons relief, assistance and return.

Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)

Soon after retirement, the General was appointed as Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), where he supervised the entire Relief and Early Recovery efforts during the

2010 Pakistan floods The floods in Pakistan began in late July 2010, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and, Balochistan regions of Pakistan, which affected the Indus River basin. Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's tot ...

, the biggest disaster to have struck Pakistan, affecting 20 million people over an area of . He sought resignation in April 2011 after his request to bring ERRA under the NDMA was denied by the political and military leadership. General Nadeem was a member of the Abbottabad Commission investigating the circumstances surrounding the 2 May 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden by United States Special Forces.

Recognition for services

In recognition of his outstanding services to humanity, General Nadeem was awarded the nation's highest award, Sitara-e-Esar, by the president of Pakistan in 2006. In 2007, he was presented with the UN Habitat Scroll of Honour at The Hague, Netherlands and also the Shah-e-Hamdan Medal by the Government of Azad Kashmir. General Nadeem has spoken at numerous conferences, seminars and workshops in Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, China, Denmark, Australia, Nepal and Thailand on all aspects of Disaster Management in both natural disasters and complex emergencies.

Awards and decorations

References

"Aitzaz Ahsan’s outburst"
, Pakistan, 5 September 2015

External links

Nadeem Ahmed Advocate
Lahore High Court – PDF
http://www.nadeemahmedadvocate.com/

Profile of the General

The aftermath of the Earthquake
– IRIN news site
Cambridge University Field Trip

Australian government Awards site

Relief web report

United Nations/Government of Pakistan Early Recovery Plan

Government of Pakistan Annual review

National Disaster Management Authority, Pakistan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmad, Nadeem Pakistani generals 2005 Kashmir earthquake Living people Pakistan Military Academy alumni United States Army War College alumni National Defence University, Pakistan alumni People of the insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Abbottabad Commission Year of birth missing (living people)