Major General Muhammad Riaz Khan was a

two-star rank Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One-star A one-star rank is usuall ...

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

general who was the eleventh

Director-General A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

of the

Inter-Services Intelligence The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is the premier Pakistani Intelligence community, intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant t ...

(ISI), serving from October 1977 until his death on 26 April 1979. Prior to that, he served at the

General Headquarters The General Headquarters (abbreviated Army GHQ) is the direct reporting and the command post of the Pakistan Army, located in the Chaklala at the vicinity of Rawalpindi, adjacent to the Joint Staff Headquarters (JS HQ). History In 1851, th ...

as Adjutant-General of the Pakistan Army. Riaz was well-regarded amongst the military establishment, and described as "religious minded, scrupulously honest, thoroughly professional and a committed soldier... a man of unimpeachable honesty and integrity." Although he presided over the ISI for a short term, his tenure, which occurred during Zia's era, coincided with a tumultuous period in Pakistan–U.S. relations: Bhutto's execution, the

Carter administration Jimmy Carter's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 39th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Jimmy Carter, his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. Carter, a Democratic Party ...

's sanctions against Pakistan's nuclear program, the U.S. embassy burning in Islamabad, the Soviet buildup in Afghanistan, and the CIA's expanding cooperation with ISI. Riaz died on 26 April 1979 from

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

. Riaz was succeeded by

Akhtar Abdur Rahman Akhtar Abdur Rahman (11 June 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistan Army general who served as the 5th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1987 until his death in 1988. He previously served as the 12th Director-General of Inter-Servic ...

. His son-in-law,

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (born 27 December 1958) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 18th prime minister of Pakistan, Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2017 to May 2018. He also currently leads Awaam Pakistan (AP) as ...

, became a prominent politician and was appointed as the

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

in 2017.

Notes

References

Year of birth missing 1979 deaths Pakistan Army lieutenant generals Muhammad Riaz Directors General of Inter-Services Intelligence {{Pakistan-mil-bio-stub