General Shamim Alam Khan ( ur, ; 18 August 1937 – 9 December 2021), was a
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...
senior general, who served as the 7th
Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) ( ur, ) is, in principle, the highest-ranking and senior most uniformed military officer, typically at four-star rank, in the Pakistan Armed Forces who serves as a Principal Staff Officer and ...
from 1991 until retiring in 1994.
Biography
Shamim Alam Khan was born in
Shillong,
Meghalaya in
India, into an
Urdu-speaking
Native speakers of Urdu are spread across South Asia. The vast majority of them are Muslims of the Hindi–Urdu Belt of northern India, followed by the Deccani people of the Deccan plateau in south-central India (who speak Deccani Urdu) and the ...
family on 18 August 1937.
[
] His father, Mahboob Alam Khan, was an officer in the
Indian Civil Service
The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947.
Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...
who worked at an administration position at the
Survey of India.
His mother, Nisa Begum, was a
housewife.
Mahboob had nine children with Nisa among all joined the respected branches of the
Pakistan Armed Forces
The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...
.
After the
partition of
India in 1947, the Alam family moved from
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
to
Rawalpindi via
train, witnessing the
violence and riots that were taking place in the trains at the time of the partition in 1947.
Eventually, Mahboob Alam found employment at the
Survey of Pakistan
Survey of Pakistan ( ur, ) is the sole national mapping and land surveying government agency of Pakistan. Its head of department is titles as " Surveyor General of Pakistan".
About Survey of Pakistan
Survey of Pakistan, which emerged as succes ...
.
After his
matriculation
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...
, Alam went to attend the
Lawrence College where he earned the
diploma, which allowed to him to attend the
Government College University (GCU) in
Lahore,
Punjab, Pakistan.
However, he left his studies at the
GCU after he joined the
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...
in 1954 which directed him to attend the
Pakistan Military Academy in
Kakul.
In 1956, he
passed out in the class of 14th PMA Long Course from the
PMA Kakul, earning a
commission in the
20th Lancers,
Armoured Corps.
In 1958–60,
Lt. Alam joined the elite
Special Service Group (SSG), eventually was selected to be trained with the
United States Army's
Special Forces in
Fort Bragg in
North Carolina, United States.
Upon returning,
Major Alam participated in the
second war with India in 1965, commanding a
company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...
against the
Indian Army and his actions of valour earned him the
Sitara-e-Jurat
Sitara-e-Jurat (, Star of Courage) is the third highest military award of Pakistan. It was established in 1957 after Pakistan became a republic; however, it was instituted retrospectively back to 1947. It is awarded for gallantry or distinguish ...
by the
President of Pakistan in 1966.
In 1967–70,
Maj. Alam went to the United Kingdom where he attended the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...
's
Staff College in
Camberley
Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Camberl ...
, and served in the
28th Cavalry in the
Chamb sector on the
western front Western Front or West Front may refer to:
Military frontiers
* Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...
of the
third war with India in 1971.
After the war, Maj. Alam went to attend the
National Defence University, along with his brother
Lt-Cdr.
Shamoon
Shamoon ( fa, شمعون), also known as W32.DistTrack, is a modular computer virus that was discovered in 2012, targeting then-recent 32-bit NT kernel versions of Microsoft Windows. The virus was notable due to the destructive nature of the atta ...
, as both graduated with
MSc
MSC may refer to:
Computers
* Message Sequence Chart
* Microelectronics Support Centre of UK Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
* MIDI Show Control
* MSC Malaysia (formerly known as Multimedia Super Corridor)
* USB mass storage device class (USB MS ...
in
War studies.
For sometime,
Lt-Col. Shamim served a brief stint as an instructor at the
Air War College
The Air War College (AWC) is the senior Professional Military Education (PME) school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, space, and cyberspace in joint operati ...
in
Islamabad.
War and command appointments in the military
In 1979–80s,
Brig. Shamim served as the
Chief of Staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
in the
I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to:
France
* 1st Army Corps (France)
* I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...
, stationed in
Mangla
Mangla (منگلا) is a town situated in District Mirpur within the region of Azad Kashmir. The village is located in the west of the foothills of Mangla's fort (which also derived its name from the same village). It is surrounded on three side ...
, before commanding the independent armoured brigade stationed in
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline ...
.
From 1983 to 1985,
Major-General Shamim was given the command as
GOC of the 1st Armoured Division in Multan.
In 1987 and 1988,
Maj-Gen. Shamim's promotion was eventually deferred and overlooked by then-
army chief and
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Zia-ul-Haq when he only promoted the officer to the command assignment of his choosing.
However,
Prime Minister Mohammad Junejo interfered in this matter, and eventually he was promoted to the command assignment with the officer of Zia's choosing.
In 1988,
Lt-Gen. Shamim was posted on his first formation commanding assignment as the
field command of the
II ''Strike'' Corps, stationed in
Multan,
Punjab, Pakistan, which he served until 1989 when he was elevated as the
Chief of General Staff (CGS) at the
Army GHQ in
Rawalpindi.
[Khaled Ahmed]
"The Death of Zia-Ul-Haq"
''Criterion Quarterly'', April - June 2007. Issue - Vol. 2 No. 2 In April 1991,
Lt-Gen. Shamim was made the field commander of the
XXXI Corps, stationed in
Bahawalpur
Bahawalpur () is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. With inhabitants as of 2017, it is Pakistan's 11th most populous city.
Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Abbasi f ...
, but this command assignment only lasted a few months when
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Ghulam Ishaq Khan ( ur, غلام اسحاق خان; 20 January 1915 – 27 October 2006), was a Pakistani bureaucrat who served as the seventh president of Pakistan, elected in 1988 following Zia's death until his resignation in 1993. He wa ...
announced the promotion of the
Lt-Gen. Shamim to the
four-star rank– he superseded no one as he was the most senior army general in the military.
Chairman joint chiefs
On 8 November 1991,
Gen.
The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning"). ...
Shamim took over the
Chairmanship
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), ( ur, ); is an administrative body of senior high-ranking uniformed military leaders of the unified Pakistan Armed Forces who advises the civilian Government of Pakistan, National Security Council, Def ...
, and later went on to play a decisive role in support of
Gen.
The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning"). ...
Abdul Waheed, then-
chief of army staff, to secure the resignations of both
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Ghulam Ishaq and
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to oversee the
nationwide general elections in 1993.
On 26 November 1992, Gen. Shamim was appointed to the ceremonial post as
Col-in-C of the
Armoured Corps, which he remained until 18 December 1996. In 1994, Gen. Shamim sought his retirement after completing his tenureship in 1994.
Death
Khan died from
COVID-19 in
Rawalpindi on 9 December 2021, aged 84, amid the
COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
The COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan is part of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached Pakistan on 26 February 2020, when tw ...
.
Awards and Decorations
Foreign Decorations
Gallery
File:Shamim Alam Khan.jpg, Commanding an SSG company
File:Lt. Col. Shamim.jpg, As a Lieutenant Colonel
File:General Shamim Alam Khan receiving highest military award of Jordan.jpg, Receiving the highest military award of Jordan
File:Shamim Alam Khan receiving the Order of Merit Class I.jpg, Receiving the National Order of the Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
File:Shamim Alam Khan receiving the Sitar-e-Jurrat.jpg, Receiving the ''Sitara-e-Jurat
Sitara-e-Jurat (, Star of Courage) is the third highest military award of Pakistan. It was established in 1957 after Pakistan became a republic; however, it was instituted retrospectively back to 1947. It is awarded for gallantry or distinguish ...
''
File:Sitar-e-Jurat.jpg, The ''Sitara-e-Jurat''
File:General Shamim Alam Khan receiving the Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Honor.jpg, Receiving the Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Honor
Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Honor ( tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri Şeref Madalyası) is the highest medal that can be bestowed upon an individual by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and was first created on July 27, 1967.
Technical specificati ...
File:General Shamim Alam Khan receiving the Nishan-e-Imtiaz.jpg, Receiving the Nishan-e-Imtiaz
File:General Shamim Alam Khan receiving the Hilal-i-Imtiaz.jpg, Receiving the Hilal-i-Imtiaz
The ''Hilaal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled and transliterated as Hilāl-e-Imtiyāz, is the second-highest (in the hierarchy of "Hilal") civilian award and honour given to both civilians and military officers of the Pakistan Armed Forces by the ...
File:General Shamim Alam Khan receiving the Sitar-e-Basalat.jpg, Receiving the Sitar-e-Basalat
File:Family of General Shamim Alam Khan.jpg, Family of Shamim Alam Khan
References
External links
"Brig Z.A. Khan interview to Defence Journal"
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Shamim Alam
1937 births
2021 deaths
People from Shillong
Military personnel from Bangalore
Muhajir people
People from Rawalpindi
Lawrence College Ghora Gali alumni
Government College University, Lahore alumni
Pakistan Military Academy alumni
Pakistan Armoured Corps officers
Special Services Group officers
Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley
Pakistani military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
National Defence University, Pakistan alumni
Pakistani generals
Chairmen Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz
Recipients of Sitara-e-Jurat
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Punjab, Pakistan