Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army

This article is about the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army. For Commanders-in-Chief of the other countries, see Commander-in-Chief of the Army. For the present title of the head of the Pakistan Army, see Chief of the Army Staff (Pakistan).

Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army
پاک فوج کے کمانڈر انچیف
Flag of the Pakistan Army
Longest serving General Muhammad Musa 28 October 1958 – 27 October 1966
Abbreviation	C-in-C
Residence	Rawalpindi Cantonment
Seat	General Headquarters Rawalpindi Cantonment in Punjab, Pakistan
Nominator	Governor General of Pakistan, Prime Minister or President of Pakistan
Appointer	Governor General of Pakistan, Prime Minister or President of Pakistan
Term length	Not fixed
Formation	15 August 1947;78 years ago (1947-08-15)
First holder	Gen. Frank Messervy
Final holder	Lt. Gen. Gul Hassan Khan
Abolished	3 March 1972;53 years ago (1972-03-03)
Succession	Chief of Army Staff

The Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army was the head of the Pakistan Army from 1947 to 1972. The appointment holder had main operational command authority over the army. ^[1]

In 1951, the first native Pakistani officer (General Ayub Khan) was appointed the commander-in-chief of the army by the then Government of Pakistan. ^[2]

The Commander-in-Chief of the Army appointment was re-designated as 'Chief of Army Staff' in 1972; General Tikka Khan was the first person to hold the new title replacing Lieutenant General Gul Hassan Khan who was the last Commander-in-Chief. ^{[3] [4]} Six generals had served as C-in-Cs, the first two of them were native British and the post's name was derived from the post of Commander-in-Chief, India.

History

See also: Commander-in-Chief, India

Prior to the Partition of British India, British Indian Army's head's title was Commander-in-Chief, India.

The Commander-in-Chief, India directly reported to the Governor-General of India who was also under the British monarchy. Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck was the last Commander-in-Chief of the undivided British Indian Army who became the supreme commander of India and Pakistan on 15 August 1947 serving till November 30 of that year.

Dominion of Pakistan was born on 14 August 1947 and its army was known as 'Royal Pakistan Army'; on 15 August British Indian Army's General Frank Messervy became the first C-in-C of the newly created Pakistan Army. General Ayub Khan was the first native Pakistani to hold the appointment on 17 January 1951.

Appointees

The following table chronicles the appointees to the office of the Commander-in-Chief since the independence of Pakistan to 1972.

Commanders-in-Chief, Pakistan Army (1947–1972)

No.	Portrait	Commander-in-Chief	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Unit of Commission	Notes
1		Messervy, Frank General Frank Messervy KCSI KBE CB DSO & Bar (1893–1974)	15 August 1947	10 February 1948	179 days	9th Hodson's Horse	The first commander-in-chief of the army who was in the acting rank of full general.
2		Gracey, Douglas General Sir Douglas David Gracey KCB KCIE CBE MC & Bar (1894–1964)	11 February 1948	16 January 1951	2 years, 339 days	1st King George's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment)	The last native British person to hold the C-in-C title, served as an acting full general like his predecessor.
3		Khan, Ayub Field Marshal Ayub Khan NPk HJ HPk MBE (1907–1974)	17 January 1951	27 October 1958	7 years, 284 days	5 Punjab Regiment	The first native Pakistani person to be the C-in-C and as a substantive full general to hold the appointment, also the first commander-in-chief to become President of the country. He was a self promoted Field Marshal after becoming the President. [5]
4		Musa, Muhammad General Muhammad Musa HPk HJ HQA MBE (1908–1991)	28 October 1958	27 October 1966 [6]	7 years, 364 days	6/13 Frontier Force Rifles (1FF)	C-in-C during the Indo-Pak war of 1965 and also the longest serving officer to hold the post.
5		Khan, Yahya General Yahya Khan HPk HJ SPk (1917–1980)	27 October 1966 [6]	19 December 1971	5 years, 53 days	10 Baluch Regiment	Second commander-in-chief to serve as President of the country from 1969 to 1971, he was the last commander-in-chief of the army of the undivided Pakistan.
6		Khan, Gul Lieutenant General Gul Hassan Khan SQA SPk (1921–1999)	20 December 1971	3 March 1972	74 days	5th Horse	Last C-in-C of the Pakistan Army, serving till 1972 in the rank of lieutenant general. [4]

See also

• Military dictatorship in Pakistan

References

1. Siddiqi, Abdurrahman (2020). General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan: The Rise & Fall of a Soldier, 1947-1971. Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780190701413.
2. Khan, Mohammad Ayub (1967). Friends Not Masters: A Political Autobiography. Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9789697553006.
3. "A leaf from history: Reshuffle in the armed forces". Dawn.com . 8 July 2012.
4. Khan, Gul Hassan (1993). Memoirs of Lt. Gen. Gul Hassan Khan. Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780190701413.
5. "Gen. Ayub becomes President". Dawn . 6 September 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
6. General Yahya Khan Named New Army C-in-C. Pakistan Affairs. 16 April 1966. p. 3.