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 ...
Muhammad Yusaf Khan ( ur, ; born February 10, 1948) was a senior general of the
Pakistan Army who served as the
Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) from October 8, 2001 until October 7, 2004. Following the end of his 3-year term in October 2004, he was succeeded by General
Ahsan Saleem Hyat
General Ahsan Saleem Hayat ( ur, ; born 10 January 1948), is a senior officer of the Pakistan Army who served as the Vice Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army from 2004 until his retirement in 2007. Prior to that, he served as the op ...
.
Military career
General Yusaf Khan graduated from
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 co ...
(College No. 2642), He was commissioned in the
Pakistan Army in 1966 in the 37th PMA Long Course and joined the Guides Cavalry. He served various command and staff posts including Commanding Officer Guides Cavalry, Commanding Officer of a Tank Battalion in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, Instructor at
Command and Staff College, Chief of Staff of a Strike Corps, Commander of an armoured division,
Chief of General Staff, and finally the
Vice Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army.
Yusaf Khan was promoted to Lieutenant General in June 1998 and sent as the Military Secretary (MS) in the GHQ. Later on 29 October 1998, he was transferred as Commander
II Corps, Multan.
Military coup of 1999 and Chief of General Staff
During the time of
military coup of 1999, the then Lieutenant General Muhammad Yusaf Khan was the Corps Commander Multan. By September 2000, he was posted as Chief of General Staff (CGS) to replace the then Lieutenant General
Aziz Khan who was instead given the command of Lahore Corps. The post of
Chief of General Staff is considered vital as the chief overlooks the two intelligence bureaus within Pakistan Army (
Military Intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
and Intelligence Bureau).
Vice Chief of Army Staff
In October 2001, General Yusaf was promoted to four-star general as the
Vice Chief of Army Staff. He was junior only to Usmani, hence superseding one officer while ascending to the four-star post of VCOAS. The timing of promotion of General Yusaf and General
Aziz Khan coincided with the
US invasion of Afghanistan, when these generals superseded Lieutenant General
Muzaffar Usmani and Lieutenant General
Mahmud Ahmed, both of whom were known for their hawkish stances.
General Yusaf also stayed the ceremonial post of Colonel-in-Chief of the Armoured Corps of Pakistan Army. The four-star general is usually promoted as the Colonel-in-Chief of his respective unit. He was promoted to that position by President General
Pervez Musharraf
General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...
on 31 March 2003 at the Armoured Corps Regimental Center in
Nowshera and continued till 3 May 2005 when he was replaced by General
Ahsan Saleem Hyat
General Ahsan Saleem Hayat ( ur, ; born 10 January 1948), is a senior officer of the Pakistan Army who served as the Vice Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army from 2004 until his retirement in 2007. Prior to that, he served as the op ...
.
"General Yusaf installed new Colonel in Chief of Armoured Corps"
''President of Pakistan Press Release'', 31 March 2003
Awards and Decorations
Foreign Decorations
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Yusaf
Pakistani generals
1948 births
Living people
Pakistan Armoured Corps officers