Chief of the General Staff (Pakistan)
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Chief of General Staff | |
---|---|
Lt-Gen. Muhammad Avais Dastgir since 28 November 2023 | |
Pakistan Army | |
Type | Principal Staff Officer |
Abbreviation | CGS |
Reports to | Chief of the Army Staff |
Seat | GHQ, Rawalpindi |
Appointer | Chief of the Army Staff |
Chief of the General Staff (abbreviated as CGS) is the most coveted position within the Pakistan Army after that of the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS). Although four-star Chief of the Army Staff is the head of the land forces, CGS is "the organisational lead on both intelligence and operations" hence being in charge of the MI (Military Intelligence) and MO (Military Operations) Directorates.[1] Since 1985 a three-star lieutenant general is appointed to the post of CGS.
History
The selection for
Historically, the Chief of General Staff, in addition to Commander, X Corps have political significance when the army chief wanted to overthrow political leadership. The 1999 Pakistani coup d'état, which brought General Pervez Musharraf to power had active involvement of Lt Gen Muhammad Aziz Khan, then CGS and Lt Gen Mahmud Ahmed, commander of the X Corps.
Therefore, the army chief essentially appoints his most trusted aides for these two postings before making a routine reshuffle. Gen Ziauddin Butt, who was nominated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after retiring Pervez Musharraf, passed his first orders to appoint Lt Gen Muhammad Akram as CGS and Lt Gen Salim Haider as commander, X Corps. But before this order could be conveyed to the rest of the army, Aziz and Mahmud took steps to reverse the order by overthrowing the government and thus essentially starting the 1999 coup.
List of Chiefs of General Staff
# | Portrait | Name | Start of term | End of term | Unit of Commission |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Major General
|
1948 | 1951 | 6th Rajputana Rifles | |
1 | Major General
|
1951 | 1951 | 6/13 Frontier Force Rifles (1 FF) | |
2 | Major General
Mohammad Yusuf Khan |
26 March 1951[3] | 1953 | ||
3 | Major General
|
1953 | 1955 | 4/12 Frontier Force Regiment (6FF) | |
4 |
Major General
|
1955 | 1957 | 7th Light Cavalry | |
5 | 25 July 1957[4] | 23 December 1962 | 4th Battalion (Duke of Connaught's Own) The Baluch Regiment (11 Baluch) | ||
6 | Major General
Malik Sher Bahadur |
24 December 1962[5] | 1966 | 4th Battalion (Duke of Connaught's Own) The Baluch Regiment (11 Baluch) | |
7 | Major General[3]
SPk
|
1966 | 19 December 1968 | 18th King Edward's Own Cavalry
| |
8 | Major General[4]
|
20 December 1968[6] | 19 December 1971 | 5 Horse(Probyn's Horse)
| |
9 | Major General
M. Rahim Khan |
1972 | 1974 | ||
10 | Major General[5]
|
July 1974 | March 1976 | 5th Battalion (Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides) 12 Frontier Force Regiment (2 FF) | |
11 | Major General
Abdullah Malik |
March 1976 | March 1978 | ||
12 | Major General[6]
|
March 1978 | June 1980 | East Bengal Regiment | |
13 | Major General
|
June 1980 | October 1985 | 16 Baloch Regiment | |
14 | Lieutenant General | October 1987 | January 1988 | Punjab Regiment | |
15 | Lieutenant General | January 1988 | August 1988 | 6 Lancers
| |
16 | Lieutenant General[7][8] | May 1989 | April 1991 | 20th Lancers | |
17 | Lieutenant General | April 1991 | August 1991 | 5 Punjab Regiment | |
18 | Lieutenant General | August 1991 | July 1994 | 15th Lancers | |
19 | Lieutenant General [9][10] | July 1994 | January 1996 | 13th Lancers | |
20 | Lieutenant General | January 1996 | May 1997 | 11 Baloch Regiment | |
21 | Lieutenant General | May 1997 | October 1998 | 12 Baloch Regiment | |
22 | Lieutenant General[11][12]
|
October 1998 | August 2000 | 12 Punjab Regiment | |
23 | Lieutenant General[13] | August 2000 | October 2001 | The Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force) | |
24 | Lieutenant General | October 2001 | December 2003 | 10th Baloch Regiment | |
25 | Lieutenant General[14][15] | December 2003 | October 2006 | 28 Baloch Regiment | |
26 | Lieutenant General
Salahuddin Satti |
October 2006 | October 2008 | 40 Punjab Regiment | |
27 | Lieutenant General
Muhammad Mustafa Khan |
October 2008 | April 2010 | ||
28 | Lieutenant General [16][17] | April 2010 | October 2010 | 20 Punjab Regiment | |
29 | Lieutenant General
|
October 2010 | January 2013 | 16 Horse | |
30 | Lieutenant General [18][19] | January 2013 | November 2013 | 7 Baloch Regiment | |
31 | Lieutenant General | November 2013 | April 2015 | 34 Azad Kashmir Regiment | |
32 | Lieutenant General[20][21] | April 2015 | November 2016 | 3 (Self Propelled) Medium Regiment Artillery
| |
33 | Lieutenant General | December 2016 | August 2018 | Corps of Artillery
| |
34 | Lieutenant General[22][23] | August 2018 | November 2019 | 10 Sind Regiment
| |
35 | Lieutenant General | November 2019 | September 2021 | 8 Sind Regiment
| |
36 | Lieutenant General | 8 September 2021 | December 2022 | 41 Baloch Regiment | |
37 | Lieutenant General | December 2022 | November 2023 | 10 Sind Regiment
| |
38 | Lieutenant General
Avais Dastgir |
November 2023 | Incumbent |
See also
Notes
1.^ Later promoted to lieutenant general in-office.
2.^ Later promoted to the post of a general.
3.^ Later promoted to Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee.
References
- ^ Syed, Baqir Sajjad (Aug 14, 2016). "Who will be the next army chief?". DAWN.COM. Retrieved Aug 3, 2020.
- ^ "Biography of Lieutenant-General Ross Cairns McCay (1895 – 1969), Great Britain". generals.dk. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ The Army List. 1952. p. 112.
- ^ The Army List. 1960. p. 123.
- ^ The Army List. 1964. p. 85.
- ^ The Army List. 1969. p. 99.