Chief of the General Staff (Pakistan)

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. Since 1985 a three-star lieutenant general is appointed to the post of CGS.

Chief of General Staff
Flag of the Pakistan Army
Incumbent 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

History

The selection for Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) have a preference for the officer candidate having served as the Chief of General Staff. Of the last 13 four-star army generals, eight officers had served a tenure as the CGS. Of the five who hadn't, Pervez Musharraf and Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had served as Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), while Ehsan ul Haq had served as Director General of Military Intelligence (DGMI), all two-star postings under the CGS.

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 Ross Cairns McCay DSO	1948	1951	6th Rajputana Rifles
1		Major General Akbar Khan, DSO	1951	1951	6/13 Frontier Force Rifles (1 FF)
2		Major General Mohammad Yusuf Khan	26 March 1951	1953
3		Major General Mian Hayaud Din, HJ MBE MC	1953	1955	4/12 Frontier Force Regiment (6FF)
4		Major General Sher Ali Khan Pataudi, HJ	1955	1957	7th Light Cavalry
5		Major General Aga Muhammad Yahya Khan	25 July 1957	23 December 1962	4th Battalion (Duke of Connaught's Own) The Baluch Regiment (11 Baluch)
6		Major General Malik Sher Bahadur	24 December 1962	1966	4th Battalion (Duke of Connaught's Own) The Baluch Regiment (11 Baluch)
7		Major General Yaqub Ali Khan, SPk	1966	19 December 1968	18th King Edward's Own Cavalry
8		Major General Gul Hassan Khan, SQA SPk	20 December 1968	19 December 1971	5 Horse(Probyn's Horse)
9		Major General M. Rahim Khan	1972	1974
10		Major General Muhammad Iqbal Khan, NI(M) SI(M) SBt	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 Farooq Shaukat Khan Lodi	March 1978	June 1980	East Bengal Regiment
13		Major General Mirza Aslam Beg, NI(M) SI(M) SBt	June 1980	October 1985	16 Baloch Regiment
14		Lieutenant General Muhammad Safdar	October 1987	January 1988	Punjab Regiment
15		Lieutenant General Mian Muhammad Afzaal, HI(M) SI(M) SBt	January 1988	August 1988	6 Lancers
16		Lieutenant General Shamim Alam Khan, NI(M) SBt SJ	May 1989	April 1991	20th Lancers
17		Lieutenant General Asif Nawaz Janjua, NI(M) HI(M) SBt	April 1991	August 1991	5 Punjab Regiment
18		Lieutenant General Farrakh Khan	August 1991	July 1994	15th Lancers
19		Lieutenant General Jehangir Karamat, NI(M) SBt	July 1994	January 1996	13th Lancers
20		Lieutenant General Iftikhar Ali Khan, HI(M) SBt	January 1996	May 1997	11 Baloch Regiment
21		Lieutenant General Ali Kuli Khan Khattak, HI(M)	May 1997	October 1998	12 Baloch Regiment
22		Lieutenant General Muhammad Aziz Khan, NI(M) HI(M) SBt TBt	October 1998	August 2000	12 Punjab Regiment
23		Lieutenant General Muhammad Yusaf Khan	August 2000	October 2001	The Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force)
24		Lieutenant General Shahid Aziz	October 2001	December 2003	10th Baloch Regiment
25		Lieutenant General Tariq Majid, NI(M)	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 Khalid Shameem Wynne, NI(M) HI(M)	April 2010	October 2010	20 Punjab Regiment
29		Lieutenant General Waheed Arshad, HI(M) TBt	October 2010	January 2013	16 Horse
30		Lieutenant General Rashad Mahmood, NI(M) HI(M)	January 2013	November 2013	7 Baloch Regiment
31		Lieutenant General Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmad, HI(M)	November 2013	April 2015	34 Azad Kashmir Regiment
32		Lieutenant General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, NI(M)	April 2015	November 2016	3 (Self Propelled) Medium Regiment Artillery
33		Lieutenant General Bilal Akbar	December 2016	August 2018	Corps of Artillery
34		Lieutenant General Nadeem Raza, NI(M) HI(M)	August 2018	November 2019	10 Sind Regiment
35		Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza	November 2019	September 2021	8 Sind Regiment
36		Lieutenant General Azhar Abbas	8 September 2021	December 2022	41 Baloch Regiment
37		Lieutenant General Muhammad Saeed	December 2022	November 2023	10 Sind Regiment
38		Lieutenant General Avais Dastgir	November 2023	Incumbent

See also

• Vice Chief of the Army Staff (Pakistan)

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.

External links

• Official Pakistan Army website