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.". O ...

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.

Military career

General Yusaf Khan graduated from Military College Jhelum (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 List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

, Instructor at Command and Staff College, Chief of Staff of a Strike Corps, Commander of an armoured division,

Chief of General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces ( militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

, 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

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 ...

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 Muzaffar, Muzaffer, or Mozaffar ( ar, مظفر; "the Victorious") may refer to: People Given name *Al-Muzaffar Umar (died 1191), Ayyubid prince of Hama and a general of Saladin *Muzaffar Shah of Malacca (ruled 1445–1459), sultan of Malacca * ...

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 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 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

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Yusaf Pakistani generals 1948 births Living people Pakistan Armoured Corps officers