General Shamim Alam Khan ( ur, ; 18 August 1937 – 9 December 2021), was a

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 ...

senior general, who served as the 7th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1991 until retiring in 1994.

Biography

Shamim Alam Khan was born in Shillong, Meghalaya in India, into an Urdu-speaking family on 18 August 1937. His father, Mahboob Alam Khan, was an officer in the Indian Civil Service who worked at an administration position at the

Survey of India The Survey of India is India's central engineering agency in charge of Cartography, mapping and surveying.

. His mother, Nisa Begum, was a housewife. Mahboob had nine children with Nisa among all joined the respected branches of the Pakistan Armed Forces. After the

partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

of India in 1947, the Alam family moved from Bangalore to

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

via train, witnessing the violence and riots that were taking place in the trains at the time of the partition in 1947. Eventually, Mahboob Alam found employment at the

Survey of Pakistan Survey of Pakistan ( ur, ) is the sole national mapping and land surveying government agency of Pakistan. Its head of department is titles as " Surveyor General of Pakistan". About Survey of Pakistan Survey of Pakistan, which emerged as succes ...

. After his matriculation, Alam went to attend the Lawrence College where he earned the

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

, which allowed to him to attend the Government College University (GCU) in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. However, he left his studies at the GCU after he joined the

in 1954 which directed him to attend the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul. In 1956, he passed out in the class of 14th PMA Long Course from the PMA Kakul, earning a commission in the 20th Lancers, Armoured Corps. In 1958–60, Lt. Alam joined the elite Special Service Group (SSG), eventually was selected to be trained with the United States Army's

Special Forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

in North Carolina, United States. Upon returning,

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Alam participated in the second war with India in 1965, commanding a

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

against the Indian Army and his actions of valour earned him the

Sitara-e-Jurat Sitara-e-Jurat (, Star of Courage) is the third highest military award of Pakistan. It was established in 1957 after Pakistan became a republic; however, it was instituted retrospectively back to 1947. It is awarded for Courage, gallantry or dist ...

by 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. In 1967–70,

Maj. Maj may refer to: * Major, a rank of commissioned officer in many military forces * ''Máj'', a romantic Czech poem by Karel Hynek Mácha * ''Máj'' (literary almanac), a Czech literary almanac published in 1858 * Marshall Islands International Ai ...

Alam went to the United Kingdom where he attended the British Army's Staff College in

Camberley Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cambe ...

, and served in the 28th Cavalry in the Chamb sector on the

western front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

of the third war with India in 1971. After the war, Maj. Alam went to attend the National Defence University, along with his brother

Lt-Cdr Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

. Shamoon, as both graduated with

MSc MSC may refer to: Computers * Message Sequence Chart * Microelectronics Support Centre of UK Rutherford Appleton Laboratory * MIDI Show Control * MSC Malaysia (formerly known as Multimedia Super Corridor) * USB mass storage device class (USB MSC ...

in War studies. For sometime, Lt-Col. Shamim served a brief stint as an instructor at the Air War College in Islamabad.

War and command appointments in the military

In 1979–80s,

Brig. Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thou ...

Shamim served as the

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

in the

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

, stationed in

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 sides ...

, before commanding the independent armoured brigade stationed in Balochistan. From 1983 to 1985, Major-General Shamim was given the command as GOC of the 1st Armoured Division in Multan. In 1987 and 1988, Maj-Gen. Shamim's promotion was eventually deferred and overlooked by then- army chief and President Zia-ul-Haq when he only promoted the officer to the command assignment of his choosing. However, Prime Minister Mohammad Junejo interfered in this matter, and eventually he was promoted to the command assignment with the officer of Zia's choosing. In 1988, Lt-Gen. Shamim was posted on his first formation commanding assignment as the

field command The United States Space Force is organized by different units: the Space Staff, the field commands, and the space deltas. The Space Force is organized as one of two coequal military service branches within the Department of the Air Force, the o ...

of the II ''Strike'' Corps, stationed in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan, which he served until 1989 when he was elevated as the Chief of General Staff (CGS) at the Army GHQ in

.Khaled Ahmed
"The Death of Zia-Ul-Haq"
''Criterion Quarterly'', April - June 2007. Issue - Vol. 2 No. 2 In April 1991, Lt-Gen. Shamim was made the field commander of the XXXI Corps, stationed in Bahawalpur, but this command assignment only lasted a few months when President Ghulam Ishaq Khan announced the promotion of the Lt-Gen. Shamim to the four-star rank– he superseded no one as he was the most senior army general in the military.

Chairman joint chiefs

On 8 November 1991,

Gen. The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; Hebrew language, Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its i ...

Shamim took over the

Chairmanship The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, and later went on to play a decisive role in support of

Abdul Waheed, then-

chief of army staff Chief of Army Staff or Chief of the Army Staff which is generally abbreviated as COAS is a title commonly used for the appointment held by the most senior staff officer or the chief commander in several nations' armies. * Chief of Army (Australia ...

, to secure the resignations of both President Ghulam Ishaq and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to oversee the nationwide general elections in 1993. On 26 November 1992, Gen. Shamim was appointed to the ceremonial post as Col-in-C of the Armoured Corps, which he remained until 18 December 1996. In 1994, Gen. Shamim sought his retirement after completing his tenureship in 1994.

Death

Khan died from COVID-19 in

on 9 December 2021, aged 84, amid the

COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan The COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan is part of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached Pakistan on 26 February 2020, when two c ...

Awards and Decorations

Foreign Decorations

Gallery

File:Shamim Alam Khan.jpg, Commanding an SSG company File:Lt. Col. Shamim.jpg, As a Lieutenant Colonel File:General Shamim Alam Khan receiving highest military award of Jordan.jpg, Receiving the highest military award of Jordan File:Shamim Alam Khan receiving the Order of Merit Class I.jpg, Receiving the National Order of the Legion of Honour File:Shamim Alam Khan receiving the Sitar-e-Jurrat.jpg, Receiving the ''

'' File:Sitar-e-Jurat.jpg, The ''Sitara-e-Jurat'' File:General Shamim Alam Khan receiving the Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Honor.jpg, Receiving the Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Honor File:General Shamim Alam Khan receiving the Nishan-e-Imtiaz.jpg, Receiving the

Nishan-e-Imtiaz The Nishan-e-Imtiaz (; ) is one of the state organized Civil decorations of Pakistan, civil decorations of Pakistan. It is awarded for achievements towards world recognition for Pakistan or outstanding service for the country. However, the awa ...

File:General Shamim Alam Khan receiving the Hilal-i-Imtiaz.jpg, Receiving the Hilal-i-Imtiaz File:General Shamim Alam Khan receiving the Sitar-e-Basalat.jpg, Receiving the Sitar-e-Basalat File:Family of General Shamim Alam Khan.jpg, Family of Shamim Alam Khan

References

External links

"Brig Z.A. Khan interview to Defence Journal"
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Shamim Alam 1937 births 2021 deaths People from Shillong Military personnel from Bangalore Muhajir people People from Rawalpindi Lawrence College Ghora Gali alumni Government College University, Lahore alumni Pakistan Military Academy alumni Pakistan Armoured Corps officers Special Services Group officers Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Pakistani military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 National Defence University, Pakistan alumni Pakistani generals Chairmen Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz Recipients of Sitara-e-Jurat Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Punjab, Pakistan