Gul Hassan Khan
Pakistani general (1921-99) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Lieutenant General Gul Hassan Khan SPk SQA (Urdu: گل حسن خان; 9 June 1921 – 10 October 1999) known secretly as George, was a three-star rank Pakistan Army general and diplomat who served as the 6th and last Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, serving from 20 December 1971 until 3 March 1972, the shortest tenure. Gul Hassan resigned along with Abdur Rahim Khan after they refused Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's request to use their forces to end a police strike protesting for a pay increase against Bhutto's government.
This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. (April 2024) |
Gul Hassan Khan | |
---|---|
گل حسن خان | |
6th Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army | |
In office (acting) 20 December 1971 – 21 January 1972 | |
President | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto |
Preceded by | Yahya Khan |
In office 22 January 1972 – 3 March 1972 | |
Succeeded by | Tikka Khan (as Chief of Army Staff) |
Ambassador of Pakistan to Greece | |
In office April 1975 – 14 April 1977 | |
Ambassador of Pakistan to Austria | |
In office 26 May 1972 – April 1975 | |
Preceded by | Enver Murad |
Succeeded by | Abdul Sattar |
8th Chief of General Staff | |
In office 20 December 1968 – 19 December 1971 | |
Preceded by | Sahabzada Yaqub Khan |
Colonel Commandant Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers | |
In office September 1968 – February 1972 | |
Preceded by | Bakhtiar Rana |
Succeeded by | Aftab Ahmad Khan |
Directing Staff Command and Staff College Quetta | |
In office 30 June 1957 – 16 June 1959 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Gul Hassan Khan[1] (1921-06-09)9 June 1921 Quetta, Baluchistan (Chief Commissioner's Province) |
Died | 10 October 1999(1999-10-10) (aged 78) GHQ Artillery Mess, Rawalpindi, Pakistan |
Resting place | Pabbi, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan |
Children | 1 |
Education | Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College Indian Military Academy Command and Staff College Quetta[2] United States Army Armor School |
Nickname | George[3] |
Military service | |
Branch/service | British Indian Army (1942-47) Pakistan Army (1947-72) |
Years of service | 1942-72 |
Rank | Lieutenant General |
Unit | Pakistan Army Armoured Corps |
Commands | Pakistan Army Chief of General Staff 1 Armoured Division Director for Military Operations 100 Independent Armoured Brigade Group |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | Sitara-e-Quaid-i-Azam (1965) Sitara-e-Pakistan (1971) |
Gul Hassan held the positions of ADC to Cameron Nicholson, General Viscount Slim, and Governor-General of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Directing Staff Command and Staff College Quetta, Commander 1 Armoured Division, Chief of General Staff, Director Military Operations, and Commander 100 Independent Armoured Brigade Group.[2]
Notably, Gul Hassan was known for leading from the front. Once during training army officers, he wanted the artillery practice to mimic real war conditions. He had a bunker built at the target end of the Muzaffargarh range, which offered some security but was not completely safe, as a direct hit could destroy it. Despite the risk, Gul Hassan entered the bunker himself and instructed the gunners to fire with a narrow margin of error to test their training. He insisted that each artillery regiment take turns firing at the bunker to assess their skills. Colonel EAS Bokhari writes that "Luckily the units fired perfectly - and though Gen Gul was shaken in the bunker and came out of it with a lot of dust and fear of God in him - but he was quite safe. I have never seen any General Officer do this and ask for fire on a target where he himself was located."[4]