ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has seen 17 army chiefs in its 75-year-long history.
List of Army Chiefs
Gen Frank Walter Messervy was the first Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan. Gen Messervy, born in 1893, was commissioned in the Indian Army in 1913 and joined 9 Hudson’s Horse in 1914.
When Pakistan came into being, he was the first British general to become the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army from 15 August 1947 to 10 February 1948.
General Douglas Gracey as the second commander-in-chief the army from 1948 to April 1951.
General Ayub Khan was appointed as the first local four-star general to assume charge of the office as the army chief in 1951. He also appointed himself as field marshal.
Gen Musa Khan, who was appointed in 1958, served for 8 years as the fourth army chief.
Gen Yahya Khan was the fifth army chief, who held the post from September 18, 1966 to December 20, 1971.
Gen Gul Hasan Khan was the shortest-serving army chief with one-year stint in the office. He remained the army chief from 20 December 1971 to 2 March 1972.
General Tikka Khan became the seventh army chief of the Pakistan Army from March 1972 to March 1976. General Tikka Khan served as the eighth army chief. He served for one term as the country’s first Chief of Army Staff and resigned after completing his tenure.
On March 1, 1976, Gen Zia ul Haq was appointed as the Army Chief by then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Gen Zia imposed martial law on May 5, 1977. Gen Zia was the longest-serving army chief who held the position for 11 years.
Gen Aslam Baig became the 9th Army Chief after the death of Gen Ziaul Haq in a plane crash on August 17, 1988. He served from August 1988 to August 1991.
Gen Asif Nawaz was appointed as the 10th army chief on 16th August 1991, he served till January 1993. Gen Abdul Waheed Kakar was appointed from 1993 to January 1996.
Gen Abdul Waheed Kakar held this position for three years from January 1993 to January 1996.
The 12th Army Chief General Jahangir Karamat served from January 1996 to 1998.
The 13th Army Chief Pervez Musharraf was the Chief of the Pakistan Army from October 1998 to November 2007.
The 14th Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani was the Chief of Army Staff from 2007 to November 2013.
The 15th Army Chief General Raheel Sharif served from November 2013 to November 2016.
General Qamar Javed Bajwa was the 16th Army Chief of the country, who assumed his post on November 2016 and retired on November 29, 2022.
