Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Shafaat Ullah Shah

HI(M) HI or Hi may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hello Internet'', a podcast hosted by CGP Grey and Brady Haran * ''Hi'' (magazine), teen-lifestyle publication * "Hi" (Ofra Haza song), a song by Ofra Haza, Israel's entry in the 1983 Eurovisio ...

( ur, ; born 28 August 1953) is a retired three star general of 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 ...

, diplomat, and author. He often writes for 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 ...

magazine, ''"Hilal English"''. He has served as Chief of Logistics Staff at the GHQ, Colonel Commandant of the

Baloch Regiment The Baloch Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army. The modern regiment was formed in May 1956 by the merger of 8th Punjab Regiment, 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments with the 10th Baluch Regiment, Baluch Regiment. Since then, furt ...

, Commander IV Corps, and 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 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 the ...

Early life and education

Shah was born into a Syed family on 28 August 1953 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 ...

, Pakistan, to Syed Shafqat Ullah Shah who migrated from

Hyderabad Deccan Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and ...

to Lahore in 1948. His father was an employee of the Prisons Department of Punjab and later became

Inspector general An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory o ...

of the Punjab Prisons from May 1981 to May 1983. He was enrolled in the

Abbottabad Public School Abbottabad Public School (APS), formerly Railway Public School and Abbottabad Public School and College, is a public, all boys, boarding school for 7th to 12th grade students, located in Abbottabad, Pakistan. APS follows the philosophy of the Bri ...

in class 7, and did his Faculty of Sciences (FSc) from there before he joined the Army. He wanted to become a doctor but wasn't selected into

King Edward Medical University King Edward Medical University (KEMU) () is a public medical university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1860, the university is named after King Edward VII. Established by the British Raj, named as Lahore Medical School. ...

so his father made him join the

. He is also an honors graduate of the Staff College in Camberley and the National Defence College. He holds

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

s in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

and in strategic studies.

Personal life

Shah is married to the daughter of (r)

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 ...

Liaqat Bokhari ( SJ).

Military career

Shah was commissioned into the

of the

in 1971 from the 47th Long Course of 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 ...

. It was the most junior course to fight in the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Dec ...

. He served as the Colonel commandant of the

. His last appointment in the Army was as Chief of Logistics Staff at the

General Headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top ...

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 ...

Aide to the Governor of Balochistan

Shah had served as

ADC ADC may refer to: Science and medicine * ADC (gene), a human gene * AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS * Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer * Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatment ...

to the

Governor of Balochistan The Governor of Balochistan is the head of the province of Balochistan, Pakistan. The post was established on 1 July 1970, after the dissolution of West Pakistan province and the end of One Unit. Under Pakistan's current parliamentary system, the ...

Ahmad of Kalat Khan Mir Ahmad Yar Khan Ahmedzai (1902–1979), commonly referred to as "Yar Khan", was the last Khan of Kalat, a princely state within British India and the Dominion of Pakistan, serving from 10 September 1933 to 14 October 1955. Life In the ...

, from 1974 to 1976.

Aide to Musharraf

Shah was appointed as

, replacing

Nadeem Taj Lieutenant General Nadeem Taj , HI(M) (born 29 April 1953) is a retired three-star general in the Pakistan Army who served as its Adjutant General (AG) in the GHQ.Shakil Shaikh"Lt-Gen Khalid Nawaz to head 10-Corps"''The News'', 29 April 2010 Pre ...

. He took charge on 25 December 2003, the same day when there was a suicide attack on

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 the ...

. As his aide, he was actively involved in his two major diplomatic initiatives. First, to normalize strained relations with neighboring India, back-channel diplomacy was initiated to resolve the contentious issue of Kashmir. He participated in many meetings between

and

Indian Prime Minister The prime minister of India ( IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indi ...

on the sidelines of

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Cur ...

meetings and in

Dehli Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

in 2005. The back-channel contacts and meetings lead to the formalization of the Musharraf-Manmohan 'Four Point' Formula which was to be inked during

's visit to Pakistan in July 2007 but due to the events leading up to the 2007 Pakistani state of emergency & judicial crisis in Pakistan, the scheduled visit was cancelled and with it extinguished the hope of a resolution to the Kashmir dispute. Second, Musharraf's initiative of a

rapprochement In international relations, a rapprochement, which comes from the French word ''rapprocher'' ("to bring together"), is a re-establishment of cordial relations between two countries. This may be done due to a mutual enemy, as was the case with Germa ...

with Israel through informal contacts.

attended a dinner by the Jewish community in honor of him in New York on the sidelines of the September 2005

meeting.

As Commander IV Corps

Shah was made Commander IV Corps after the retirement of Commander IV Corps Lt. Gen.

Shahid Aziz Shahid Aziz ( ur, ) is a Pakistani military author and a public official who served as the Chairman of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from 2004–07, and university administrator of the Federal Urdu University in 2014–16. Aziz, a soldi ...

. As Commander IV Corps he conceptualised and made first ever medical college associated with Combined Military Hospital Lahore in a span of five months . He established the Cardiac Centre, Trauma, and Diagnostic centers at CMH Lahore. During Shah's tenure, to support a government initiative to establish a new university in Pakistan, the Pakistan Army’s Lahore Corps donated 80 Acres of

Defence Housing Authority Defence Housing Authority (DHA) ( ur, ). It is a Government of Pakistan owned real-estate development company that governs housing and municipal services for Defence neighbourhoods across Pakistan. It is the first largest residential community ...

land to the

Graz University of Technology Graz University of Technology (german: link=no, Technische Universität Graz, short ''TU Graz'') is one of five universities in Styria, Austria. It was founded in 1811 by Archduke John of Austria and is the oldest science and technology research ...

to establish its campus. He also established a first ever polytechnic providing technical skills to the youth from all over Pakistan, by Army,with free boarding and lodging.

Retirement

Shah retired on 9 November 2009 after serving as Chief Logistics Staff at the GHQ.

Later life

After Shah's retirement, he served as the Ambassador of Pakistan to the

Kingdom of Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. He is the author of "Soviet Invasion of

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 ...

", published in 1983. He has also written regularly for various magazines and newspapers. He was part of the

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Dialogue on

Track II diplomacy Track II diplomacy or "backchannel diplomacy" is the practice of "non-governmental, informal and unofficial contacts and activities between private citizens or groups of individuals, sometimes called ' non-state actors. It contrasts with track I di ...

Ambassador to Jordan

Shah was Ambassador to the

, also accredited to the

State of Palestine Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state located in Western Asia. Officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization ( ...

. At a ceremony marking the 70th Independence Day of Pakistan, he congratulated Jordanian writer Omar Nazar al Armouti for his book on the unresolved issues of Kashmir and

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

. He was involved in the sale of

Cobra helicopter The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a single-engined attack helicopter developed and manufactured by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Bell Helicopter. A member of the prolific Huey family, the AH-1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake. The AH ...

s and

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...

aircraft from Jordan to Pakistan.

2021 Pandora Papers leaks

It was reported in the

Pandora Papers The Pandora Papers are 11.9 million Data breach, leaked documents with 2.9 terabytes of data that the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published beginning on 3 October 2021. The leak exposed the secret offshore a ...

leaks by the

ICIJ The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Inc. (ICIJ), is an independent global network of 280 investigative journalists and over 140 media organizations spanning more than 100 countries. It is based in Washington, D.C. with pe ...

that Shah's wife bought a flat in London through an offshore transaction in 2007, allegedly for $1.2 million. He wrote on Twitter that the property's value was less than half of what was quoted in the leak, and that it is not illegal to buy property in the United Kingdom through an offshore company. According to him, he had bought the flat as an investment property in order to pay for his son's education. and it had been declared in all of his tax returns and even to the Army Authorities at the time of purchase . He also doubted the intentions of the journalists who reported the story. He further tweeted that "one of the journalists involved with investigations, Malia Pulitzer, has recently stayed in India for 2 years and it is a typical RAW practice to malign Pakistan Army officers with criminals". The names of more than 700 Pakistanis, including PPP and PTI ministers, were brought to light by the ICIJ in October 2021.

Effective dates of promotion

Awards and decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Shafaat Ullah Ambassadors of Pakistan to Jordan Pakistani generals People named in the Pandora Papers Lieutenant generals Pakistan Army personnel Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz People from Lahore Pakistan Military Academy alumni Pakistani military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Muhajir people 1953 births Pakistan Army officers Baloch Regiment officers Living people Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley National Defence University, Pakistan alumni University of Balochistan alumni Quaid-i-Azam University alumni Pakistani military writers Pakistani diplomats Military personnel from Lahore Pakistani Muslims