General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Sawar Khan سوار خان, NI(M) is an ex-

four-star general A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the Ranks and insignia of NATO, 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 ...

of the

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 ...

who was the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the largest province, Punjab and the Vice Chief of Army Staff during the era of General

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...

, when Zia was simultaneously the

Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan) The Chief of Army Staff ( ur, , Salar afwaj barri pakistan) ( reporting name: COAS), is the most senior officer in the Pakistan Army. It is one of the most powerful positions in Pakistan. This is the senior most appointment in the Pakistan Arm ...

and the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

of Pakistan in 1947 into the Indian Army's Corps of Artillery. He later opted for Pakistan Army in 1947. As a captain, Sawar became the Instructor Gunnery (IG) at the Artillery School.

General Officer

He was promoted to Lt General on 24 March 1976 by General Zia-ul-Haq after he became the Chief of Army Staff superseding five other generals. Sawar Khan who at the time was serving as Adjutant General (AG) at the GHQ was sent as the Commander

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 * ...

, Peshawar, where he replaced the recently superseded Lt Gen Majeed Malik. He continued to serve in Peshawar until January 1978 when he was replaced by Lt Gen

Fazle Haq Lieutenant General Fazle Haq (Pashto/ Urdu language: فضل حق; (10 September 1928 – 3 October 1991)), was a high-ranking general in the Pakistan Army, and the former martial law administrator (MLA) of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakis ...

. In 1978, Lt Gen Sawar Khan moved to Lahore to take over IV Corps as its Corps Commander. He took over from Lt Gen Iqbal Khan who proceeded as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VOAS), a newly created post.

Martial Law Administrator of Punjab

When Zia imposed martial law, the then Lt Gen Sawar Khan was sent as the governor of Punjab province in 1978, in addition to his responsibilities as Commander IV Corps, Lahore. He was part of small coterie of generals under General Zia ul-Haq, who determined the national security policies in the martial regime. The other generals were Lt Gen Faiz Ali Chishti (Commander X Corps, Rawalpindi), Lt Gen Jehanzeb Arbab (

Governor of Sindh The governor of Sindh is the appointed head of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. The office of the governor as the head of the province is largely a ceremonial position; the executive powers lie with the Chief Minister of Sindh, chief minister and t ...

and Commander V Corps, Karachi), Lt Gen Iqbal Khan (CJCSC), and the other military governors of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan

and

Rahimuddin Khan Rahimuddin Khan (21 July 1926 – 22 August 2022) was a general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 4th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1984 to 1987, after serving as the 7th governor of Balochistan from 1978 to 1984. He als ...

. After two-year stint, he was replaced with Lt Gen Ghulam Jilani Khan and promoted to four-star general. After two-year stint, he was replaced with Lt Gen Ghulam Jilani Khan and promoted to four-star general.

Vice Chief of Army Staff

In March 1980, when the post of the deputy chief of army staff (created by Zia-ul-Haq) was redefined and re-designated as the Vice Chief of Army Staff, General Sawar replaced Lt Gen Iqbal Khan. General Sawar was replaced by the Zia's deputy General Khalid Mahmud Arif in March 1984 after completing the four-year term. Sawar was a professional soldier and hailed from the

Potohar The Pothohar Plateau ( ur, ) is a plateau in north-eastern Pakistan, located between Indus River and the Jhelum River, forming the northern part of Punjab. Geography Potohar Plateau is bounded on the east by the Jhelum River, on the west by the ...

plateau of north

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, which had been a traditional recruitment area for the British and the Pakistani armies.Pakistan under Zia, 1977-1988 By Shahid Javed Burki Asian Survey, Vol. 28, No. 10 (Oct., 1988), pp. 1082-1100

General Officer

Martial Law Administrator of Punjab

Vice Chief of Army Staff

Awards and decorations

Foreign Decorations

References

See also