General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Ahsan Saleem Hayat ( ; born 10 January 1948), is a retired senior officer of the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

who served as the Vice Chief of Army Staff of the

from 2004 until his retirement in 2007. Prior to that, he served as the operational field commander of the

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

Sindh Province Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind or Scinde) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest provin ...

and was a full-tenured professor of war studies at the National Defence University. He was succeeded by General

Ashfaq Parvez Kayani Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (Urdu: ; born 20 April 1952), is a retired four-star general of the Pakistan Army who served as the eighth chief of army staff, being appointed on 29 November 2007 after his predecessor Pervez Musharraf retired from his ...

on 8 October 2007.

Army career

He was a

military brat A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revise ...

, coming from a military family. Through his parents recommendations, he attended the PAF High School in

Sargodha Sargodha (Punjabi language, Punjabi/; ; ) is a city and capital of Sargodha Division, located in Central Punjab, central Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. It is Pakistan's List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 11th most populous city and ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. Upon graduation, he went on to attend the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) is a military academy located nearby Kakul village in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Established in October 1947, it is the only service academy in Pakistan that trains cadets to serve as army of ...

(PMA) in the 11th War Course. He was given commission as a second lieutenant in the

Pakistan Army Armoured Corps The Pakistan Army Armoured Corps is a military administrative and combined arms service branch of the Pakistan Army. Headquartered in Nowshera, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, the corps is commanded by its director-general, Major-General Zafar ...

in 1968 and actively participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 on the western fronts. As a

brigadier 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 t ...

, he commanded the elite 3rd Independent Armored Brigade based in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

from 1991 to 1993. In 1993, he was posted as Chief Instructor of

Command and Staff College in Quetta The Command and Staff College Quetta is a staff college for the Pakistan Armed Forces and military officers from allied countries. Established in 1905 as Staff College, Deolali, it was later shifted to its present location in 1907 and has been ...

. He also served as

Director General A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

planning, at the

Chief of Army Staff Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

(COAS) Secretariat. He also served as the Chief Instructor of the Armed Forces War College at the then National Defence University in Islamabad before being promoted to Lieutenant General in December 2000.

Assassination attempt

Before being appointed Vice Chief, he was the commander of the V Corps at

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. This formation's area of operation covers almost the entire territory of the Sindh province. On 10 June 2004, he survived an assassination attempt when his convoy was attacked by militants from the terrorist outfit Jundallah. At least 11 men in his escort were martyred, but he survived.

Vice Chief of Army Staff

He was commander of the

at the time of his promotion to four star general, and he replaced General Yusaf Khan as the Vice Chief of Army Staff whose term expired in October 2004. Hayat was fourth in seniority when he ascended to the post.

Lieutenant Generals A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, security services and police forces. The rank ...

Hamid Javaid, Javed Hassan, and

Munir Hafiez Munir Hafiez (born March 1949) is a retired Pakistan Army general who served as a chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Before his appointment in 2001, he served in the Pakistani Army. Military career Hafiez was commissioned i ...

were senior to him; hence standing superseded once Hayat was promoted. His term expired in October 2007. He was replaced by General

, who became the country's new

once General

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

retired from the army. General Ahsan later became the colonel-in-chief of the Armoured Corps at the Armoured Corps Regimental Center, Nowshera on 5 May 2005, succeeding General Yusaf Khan. ''The Pakistan Times'', 3 May 2005

Awards and decorations

Foreign decorations

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayat, Ahsan Saleem Pakistani generals 1948 births Living people Academic staff of the National Defence University, Pakistan Pakistan Armoured Corps officers PAF College Sargodha alumni