Pakistan’s army is the 13th most strongest army in the world according to Business Insider 2018 issue. Pakistan has 17th largest military in the world on the basis of active personnel. It’s the strongest Military of the Islamic World with the largest number of female personnel in the Islamic world. Pakistan’s Air-Force is the 10th strongest Air-Force in the world. It is 5th largest contributor to US peace missions. Pakistan army is among some of the highly blessed forces that have 0% suicide rate. The Chief of Army Staff is the Joint Cheif of the Military.
Chief-of-Army-Staff is the highest appointment is the Pakistan Military appointed by Prime Minister of Pakistan. Chief of Army Staff is the most respected person of Pakistan upon whom the whole country looks to in difficult times. These army generals have actively shaped and altered the political and military dynamics of Pakistan in the 72-year history of Pakistan.
1. General Sir Frank Walter Messervy
Date of Birth: 9TH DECEMBER 1893
Date of appointment: 15th August 1947
Time as COAS: 5 months 26 days
Promotions:
- Second Lieutenant-22 January 1913
- Lieutenant – 22 April 1915
- Captain – 22 January 1917
- Acting Major – 23 November to 27 December 1918
- Brevet Major – 1 July 1929
- Major – 22 January 1931
- Local Lieutenant-Colonel – 1 September 1932
- Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel – 1 July 1933
- Lieutenant-Colonel – 10 April 1938
- Colonel – 19 April 1940
- Acting Major-General[43] (Temporary Brigadier) – 14 April 1941
- Temporary Major-General – 14 April 1942
- Major-General – 17 April 1943
- Acting Lieutenant-General – 8 December 1944
- Lieutenant-General – 1 June 1945
- Acting General – 15 August 1947
- Honorary General – 1948
2. General Douglas David Gracey
Date of Birth: 3rd September 1894
Date of appointment: 11th February 1948
Time as COAS: 2 years 339 days
Promotions:
- Chief General Staff, Pakistan – 1947 to 1948
- Commander in Chief Pakistan Army – 1948 to 1951
- Retired with the honorary rank of general- 1951
Prime Qualities: He famously refused to obey a direct order from Mohammad Ali Jinnah and send troops to the Kashmir front, arguing that Jinnah, as Governor-General of Pakistan, was a representative of the British Crown and he himself was an appointee
3. Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan
Date of Birth: 14th May 1907
Date of appointment: 17th January 1951
Time as COAS: 7 years 284 days
Promotions:
- Major-General- January 1948 (acting)
- Brigadier-21 January 1946 (acting) 1 January 1949 (substantive)
- Brigadier- 23 March 1949 (recommissioning and change in insignia)
- Major General- December 1949 (substantive)
- Lieutenant-General-17 January 1951 (substantive)
- General-17 January 1951 (acting)
- 8 July 1957 (local)
- 20 July 1957 (substantive)
Awards:
- Hilal-e-Jurat
- Hilal-e-Pakistan
Prime Qualities: He was honest and devoted to the betterment of the country. His Era of Precedency is called the Golden era of Pakistan in which Pakistan developed Economically, Socially, Culturally and Legally.
4. General Muhammad Musa Khan
Date of Birth: 20th October 1908
Date of appointment: 27th October 1958
Time as COAS: 7years 325 days
Promotions:
- Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Armed forces (1958-1969)
- Governor of West Pakistan (Bangladesh) (1966–1969).
- Governor of Balochistan (1987-1991)
Awards:
- Hilal-e-Imtiaz
- Hilal-i-Jurat
- Order of the British Empire
5. General Yahya Khan
Date of Birth: 4th February 1917
Date of appointment: 18 September 1966
Time as COAS: 5 years, 93 days
Awards:
- Hilal-e-Jurat
6. General Gul Hassan Khan
Date of Birth: 1921
Date of appointment: 20 December 1971
Time as COAS: 5 years, 93 days
Promotions:
- Commander-in-Chief, Pakistan Army
- Chief of General Staff (CGS)
- 1 Armoured Division
- Directorate for Military Operations
Awards:
- Star of Pakistan
7. General Tikka Khan
Date of Birth: 1915
Date of appointment: 3 March 1972
Time as COAS: 3 years, 364 days
Awards:
- Hilal-e-Jurat
8. General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
Date of Birth: 12 August 1924
Date of appointment: 1 March 1976
Time as COAS: 12 years, 169 days
9. General Mirza Aslam Baig
Date of Birth: August 2, 1931
Date of appointment: 17 August 1988
Time as COAS: 2 years, 364 days
Awards:
- Legion of Merit
- Nishan-i-Imtiaz (military)
- Hilal-i-Imtiaz (military)
- Sitara-e-Basalat
- Tamgha-e-Jamhuriat
- Tong-il Medal
Prime Qualities: He became COAS when Zia-ul-Haq died in a car crash. Controversial accusations were levelled against him of financing Islamic Democracy Alliance (IDA). Apart from his military career, General Mirza Aslam Baig briefly tenured as a professor of security studies at the National Defence University (NDU) and regularly writes columns in The Nation.
10. General Asif Nawaz Janjua
Date of Birth: 3rd January 1937
Date of appointment: 16 August 1991
Time as COAS: 1 year, 145 days
Awards:
- Nishan-e-Imtiaz (military)
- Hilal-i-Imtiaz (military)
- Sitara-e-Basalat
- Sword of Honour
Prime Qualities: His tenure is regarded of stabilizing the civilian control of the Pakistani military and is one of two chiefs of staff who died in the office. His political views reflected the libertarianism and tried to improve the military-to-military relations with the Indian Army.
11. General Abdul Waheed Kakar
Date of Birth: 23rd march 1937
Date of appointment: 11 January 1993
Time as COAS: 3 years, 1 day
Awards:
- Nishan-e-Imtiaz
- Sitara-e-Basalat
Prime Qualities: After taking over as COAS, Gen. Abdul Waheed Kakar who forced both Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Nawaz Sharif to hand over their resignations at the height of the political and constitutional crisis in 1993. This resulted in the 1993 general elections, in which Benazir Bhutto came into power. During his tenure, General Kakar is remembered for starting the Shaheen Nuclear Missile Project
12. General Jahangir Karamat
Date of Birth: 20 February 1941
Date of appointment: 12 January 1996
Time as COAS: 2 years, 267 days
Awards:
- Legion of Merit
- Nishan-e-Imtiaz (military)
- Sitara-e-Basalat
- Sword of Honour
Prime Qualities: As Chief of Army Staff, General Karamat tried to work with the Prime minister and President at once but soon realized it was impossible due to misconducts of politicians. General Jehangir Karamat founded a socio-political policy and analysis institute, Spearhead Research, which focuses on social, economic, military and political issues concerning Pakistan and Afghanistan.
13. General Pervez Musharraf
Date of Birth: 11 August 1943
Date of appointment: 6 October 1998
Time as COAS: 9 years, 53 days
Wars During His Regime
- Indo-Pak war of 1965
- Indo-Pak war of 1971
- Siachen Conflict
- Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Awards:
- Nishan-e-Imtiaz
- Tamgha-e-Basalat
- Imtiazi Sanad
- Order of al-Saud
Prime Qualities: Gen. Musharraf was one excellent performer at the Royal College of Defense Studies in Britain where he studied for a year. The thesis he submitted was titled ‘Impact of Arm race in the Indo- Pak subcontinent. He was an Excellent general. His devotion to Pakistan was exemplary.
14. General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani
Date of Birth: 20th April 1952
Date of appointment: 29 November 2007
Time as COAS: 6 years, 0 days
Awards:
- Nishan-e-Imtiaz (military)
- Legion of Merit
- Order of Military Merit
- Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud
Prime Qualities: General Kayani is noted as the second four-star army general who held the directorship of the ISI but later then went on to become the Chief of Army Staff. The first thing he did was to visit the front lines in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). He spent Eid Holidays with the soldiers doing duties and that won him the title of Soldier’s soldier.
15. General Raheel Sharif
Date of Birth: 16 June 1956
Date of appointment: 29 November 2013
Time as COAS: 3 years
Awards:
- Nishan-e-Imtiaz
- Hilal-e-Imtiaz
Prime Qualities: Gen. Raheel Sharif is considered as the most popular army general in the country’s history. He has the distinction of being conferred with 5 international military awards, highest for any Pakistani Army Chief till date, in recognition for his outstanding leadership in the fight against terrorism and bringing stability to the region
16. General Qamar Javed Bajwa
Date of Birth: 11th November 1960
Date of appointment: 29 November 2016
Time as COAS: 6 Years
Awards:
- Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military)
- Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military)
- Legion of Merit of Turkey
- Order of the Military Merit (Jordan)
17. General Asim Munir
Date of Birth: 11th November 1960
Date of appointment: 24 November 2022
Time as COAS: Current COAS
Awards:
- Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military)
- Tamgha-e-Diffa (Military)
- Tamgha-e-Baqa
- Tamgha-e-Istaqlal Pakistan
- Tamgha-e-Azm
- Jamhuriat Tamgha
