General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Muhammad Aziz Khan ( ur, ; 1 January 1947), best known as Aziz Khan, is a retired four-star rank

army general Army general is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System.　 In countries that adopt the general officer four rank system, it is rank of general commanding an army in the field, but in coun ...

in the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, 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 India, Partition of British India, wh ...

who served as the 11th Chairman 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, D ...

, appointed in October 2001 until his retirement in 2005. Before surprisingly superseding several military officers for the appointment as the Chairman joint chiefs in 2001, Gen. Aziz was the leading general who commanded the Northern Command against the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four ...

in the 1999

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referre ...

. In 1999,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime minister of Pak ...

had tried to stop a commercial flight from landing with Army Chief

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...

onboard so Sharif could appoint a new Army Chief. As a result, Aziz was one of the four army generals who helped to initiate the military turnover, after the plane landed, against the civilian government of

Biography

Muhammad Aziz Khan was born in Pallandri, Sudhanoti, in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

now

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger K ...

, Pakistan) on 1 January 1947 to a

Sudhan Sudhans (also known as Sudhozai Pathans) is one of the major tribes from the districts of Poonch, Sudhanoti, Bagh and Kotli in Azad Kashmir, allegedly originating from Pashtun areas. History and particulars The tribe claims an Afghan ancestr ...

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...

family. He first graduating from the High School Palandri, before joining the joined the

in 1964. He first completed his combat duty with the army during the second war with India in 1965, before being redirected to join the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy ( ur, ), also referred to by its acronym PMA. PMA is an officers training school located near Kakul village in the city and district of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa established in 1947. It is the sole service academy ...

(PMA). In 1966, Aziz passed out from the PMA with the class of 1st War Course, which is senior to 37th PMA but junior to 38th PMA Long Course, gaining commissioned as 2nd-Lt. in the 12th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment. He went to command an infantry

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrol A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as Law enforcement officer, law enforcement officers, military personnel, or Security guard, secur ...

during the third war with India in 1971, and was later sent to attend the Command and Staff College where he qualified as a psc. He later went to attend the National Defence University where he 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 MSC ...

War studies War studies, sometimes called polemology, is the multi-disciplinary study of war. It pertains to the military, diplomatic, philosophical, social, political, psychological or economic dimensions of human conflict. The word ''polemology'' derive ...

. In 1980s, Lt-Col. Aziz commanded the 12th Battalion before joining the

Zia administration The Parliament of Pakistan ( ur, , , "Pakistan Advisory Council" or "Pakistan Consultative Assembly") is the federal and supreme legislative body of Pakistan. It is a bicameral federal legislature that consists of the Senate as the upper h ...

's staff. In 1980s,

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

Aziz was selected to be appointed as

Military Secretary Military Secretary is a post found in the military of several countries: * Military Secretary (India) *Military Secretary of Israel, called Military Secretary to the Prime Minister *Military Secretary (Pakistan) *Military Secretary (Sri Lanka) * Mil ...

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 f ...

Zia-ul-Haq, assisting him when President Zia went on a state visit to the United States to meet with U.S. President Ronald Reagan. He was later posted as

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Oppo ...

at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington D.C. for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

to maintain military relations with the U.S. military. In 1990,

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Aziz was posted as the Chief of Staff of the X Corps which was under Lt. Gen. G.M. Malik before being stationed in Siachen to command the

Northern Light Infantry The Northern Light Infantry Regiment (NLI) is a light infantry regiment in the Pakistan Army, based and currently headquartered in Gilgit, Pakistan. Along with other forces of the Pakistani military, the NLI has the primary responsibility of ...

(NLI). In 1991–94, Brig. Aziz eventually moved to command the 80th Brigade attached to the Northern Command stationed in the

War and Command appointments in the military

Chief of General Staff and Kargil war with India

In 1994, Brig. Aziz was promoted as two-star rank when he posted as the GOC of the Force Command North based in

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has ...

in Pakistan. Maj-Gen. Aziz served as the GOC of the Northern Command until 1996 when he was promoted to the three-star rank, leaving the command of Maj-Gen. Javed Hassan. In 1996, Lt. Gen. Aziz was posted to the

ISI ISI or Isi may refer to: Organizations * Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a classical conservative organization focusing on college students * Ice Skating Institute, a trade association for ice rinks * Indian Standards Institute, former name of ...

, directing the ISI's analysis department, which had been responsible for providing analysis and gathering intelligence in India and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

, until 1998. Lt. Gen. Aziz was mainly responsible in keeping intelligence on the Talibans in Afghanistan, and had reputation in the country for his ultraconservative views. In October 1998, Lt. Gen. Aziz was moved to the Army GHQ where he was appointed as the

Chief of General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces ( militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

, a

second-in-command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, ...

post under the

Chief of Army Staff Chief of Army Staff or Chief of the Army Staff which is generally abbreviated as COAS is a title commonly used for the appointment held by the most senior staff officer or the chief commander in several nations' armies. * Chief of Army (Australia ...

. Himself a

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Barua ...

, Gen. Aziz was fully committed to the Kashmir cause, he began implementing the plan for covert infiltration in

Indian occupied Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompass ...

, with the approval of the

. Later investigative reports compiled by Pakistani historians and journalists, it was revealed that Lt. Gen. Aziz was the leading general who was masterminding the area contingency operations of the Norther Command led by its GOC Maj-Gen. Javed Hassan. Despite being well aware of the consequences, the writers critically questioned Lt. Gen. Aziz's grand strategy that brought the two nations at the brink of war, with international opinion widely accepting the Indian narrative. During the heights of the military actions in Kargil region, the

Indian intelligence The Intelligence Bureau (IB) ( Hindi: आसूचना ब्यूरो; IAST: āsūcanā byūro) is India's domestic internal security and counter-intelligence agency under Ministry of Home Affairs. It was founded in 1887 as ''Central ...

was able to tape the telephonic conversations that took place between the CJCSC and Army Chief Gen.

and Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Aziz, proving that it was the

that had infiltrated without the official approval from the civilian branch, the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

led by

. When the conversations were leaked by the India's Union

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

, Prime Minister Sharif met with Lt. Gen. Aziz who continuously denied the authenticity of the tapes, later confided to Chairman joint chiefs Musharraf that the success of operation relied on "total secrecy." Later Pakistani

Investigative journalist Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

news reports identified that there were four army generals who were in much control of the area contingency plans in Kargil including Lt. Gen.

Mahmud Ahmed Lieutenant General Mahmud Ahmed ( ur, ; b. 1944) is a retired three-star rank army general in the Pakistan Army who served as the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence from 1999 to 2001. He played a crucial role in sponsorshi ...

, commanding the X Corps, Lt. Gen. Shahid Aziz of ISI's Analysis Wing, and Lt. Gen. Jan Orakzai, commanding the XI Corps, besides Lt. Gen. Aziz. After the Kargil incident, there were no official military inquiries into this incident nor there were any subsequent evidence that led to the punishment of those responsible for such incidents. On 12 October 1999, Lt. Gen. Aziz played a decisive role in initiating the military takeover of the civilian government led by

when he refused to transfer the control of the military to General

Ziauddin Butt General Khawaja Ziauddin Abbasi ( ur, خواجہ ضیاء الدین عباسى), also known as Ziauddin Butt ( ur, ضیاء الدین بٹ), is a retired four-star rank army generalChaudhry, Aminullah (2009) Hijacking from the Ground: The Bi ...

. Passing orders to take over the control of the Jinnah Terminal in Karachi, Lt. Gen. Aziz effectively gained control of the military in favor of the Gen.

who removed

and his administration. After the

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

paid a state visit to Pakistan in 2000, Lt. Gen. Aziz was removed from his position and was appointed as the field commander of the IV Corps stationed in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...

, which he commanded until 2001.

Chairman Joint chiefs

On 6 October 2001, Lt. Gen. Aziz was surprisingly promoted to four-star rank with an immediate effect when he was appointed as the Chairman joint chiefs. This promotion was one of the earliest controversial decisions made by the Musharraf administration, where

news media The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public. These include news agencies, print media (newspapers, news magazines), broadcast news (radio and television), an ...

had been very critical of this appointment. At the time of the promotion, Lt. Gen. Aziz was sixth in the seniority with senior army generals who were in the race of promotion to four-star included with seniority: * Lt. Gen. Muzaffar Usmani – Vice-Chief of Army Staff at Army GHQ in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

*Lt-Gen. Hamid Javaid– Chief of Staff to the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Mahmud Ahmed Lieutenant General Mahmud Ahmed ( ur, ; b. 1944) is a retired three-star rank army general in the Pakistan Army who served as the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence from 1999 to 2001. He played a crucial role in sponsorshi ...

– DG

*Lt-Gen. Khalid Maqbool– Chairman of the

National Accountability Bureau The National Accountability Bureau ( ur, ; abbreviated NAB) is an autonomous and constitutionally established federal institution responsible to build efforts against corruption and prepare critical national economic intelligence assessments ...

(NAB) in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capita ...

*Lt-Gen. Yusaf Khan–

(CGS) at Army GHQ in

*Lt-Gen. Aziz Khan–Field Commander of the IV Corps, stationed in Lahor, Punjab, Pakistan While Gen. Yusaf and Gen. Aziz were elevated to their four-star commanding appointments, the remaining four army generals seek their retirement when they tendered their resignations. Resignations of

and Osmani were widely rumoured due to their closeness to the terrorists outfits. He also stayed as the Colonel-in-Chief of the Punjab Regiment appointed by General

on 21 March 2003. Upon appointed, Gen. Aziz called on President Musharraf, thanking the president for the promotion. Despite his initial support for Gen. Musharraf, Aziz Khan soon regretted playing his part in bringing to help stabilize Gen.

's role against the civilian government when he lectured and quoted: " politics should not be done in uniform." In 2001, Gen. Aziz publicly came out against President

's policy on siding with the United States, without effectively addressing the issue of containing the terrorists organizations. He viewed the American attack on Afghanistan with great suspicion, and had held sympathetic views towards the Talibans in Afghanistan, and harboured strong anti-American views when he termed the

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Amer ...

as "number one enemy". In a response to the

terrorist attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

Indian parliament The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

in 2001, Gen. Aziz oversaw the troop deployment across the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political bo ...

amid the military standoff, and supportive towards the Chinese mediation between the relations of

two countries ''Two Countries'' is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film written by Rafi and directed by Shafi. The film stars Dileep and Mamta Mohandas in the lead roles, with Suraj Venjarammoodu, Mukesh, Aju Varghese and Jagadish a ...

. In 2003, Gen. Aziz went to visit

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

where he met with

Sri Lankan President The President of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති ''Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi''; ta, இலங்கை சனாதிபதி ''Ilankai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of t ...

Chandrika Kumaratunga Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga ( si, චන්ද්‍රිකා බණ්ඩාරනායක කුමාරතුංග, ta, சந்திரிகா பண்டாரநாயக்க குமாரதுங்க; born 29 Ju ...

where he agreed to provide military assistance to

to their

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

. In 2005, Gen. Aziz's timely retirement was confirmed by President Musharraf and disassociate himself with Aziz with further political appointments despite rumors. Gen. Aziz was succeeded by Gen.

Ehsan ul Haq General Ehsan ul Haq NI(M), HI(M) ( ur, ; b. 22 September 1949), is a retired four-star rank army general in the Pakistan Army and a public official, served as the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, appointed in October 2005 ...

, amid another controversial appointment in 2004.

Awards and decorations

Foreign decorations

References

External links

'The Mullahs' Blue-Eyed General'
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Aziz 1947 births Kashmiri people People from Sudhanoti District People from Azad Kashmir Pakistan Military Academy alumni Pakistani military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 National Defence University, Pakistan alumni Pakistani expatriates in the United States Pakistani spies Islamism in Pakistan Kashmir conflict People of the Kargil War Anti-Americanism Chairmen Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Pakistani generals Pakistan Hockey Federation presidents People of the Sri Lankan Civil War Living people