Tariq Khan is a retired

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 officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

who was the Commander of I Strike Corps at Mangla."Lt-Gen Waheed Arshad new CGS"
''Dawn'', 1 October 2010 A war hero, he has been the Inspector General of the

Frontier Corps The Frontier Corps (, reporting name: FC) are a group of four paramilitary forces of Pakistan, operating in the provinces of Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to maintain law and order while overseeing the country's b ...

from September 2008 till October 2010. He has also commanded the 1st Armoured Division in

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

from 2006 to 2007 and then the 14th Infantry Division in

South Waziristan South Mahsud Waziristan District () was a Districts of Pakistan, district in the Dera Ismail Khan Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, before splitting into the Lower South Waziristan District and the Upper South Waziristan D ...

till 2008. Khan gained fame when he led the

to victory against Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan in the Battle of Bajaur in 2009.

Pakistan Army career

Tariq Khan belongs to the

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

area of Pakistan. He was commissioned in the Armoured Corps in the 55th PMA Long Course on 16 April 1977 and was awarded the ''Sword of Honour'' from the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) is a military academy located nearby Kakul village in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Established in October 1947, it is the only service academy in Pakistan that trains cadets to serve as army of ...

. He has participated in the First Gulf War of 1991, and contributed towards the international effort in the War on Terrorism as Pakistan's Senior National Representative at CENTCOM,

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

from 2004 to 2005. Khan was then promoted to major general in 2006 and commanded an armoured division in

and later an infantry division in

leading ''Operation Zalzala'' against the militants."29 brigadiers promoted as major general"
''Dawn'', 5 January 2006 After commanding an infantry division, Maj Gen Tariq was posted as IG FC KPK, where he changed FC from a ragtag group of fighters into a force on par with Pakistan Army. As IG FC, he commanded the spearhead of Pakistan's war against terror. On 1 October 2010 he was promoted to the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

and appointed Corps Commander Mangla and Commander Central Command.

Honors

The officer has been successful in turning the

around from a force in great difficulty into a highly professional one which has seen great successes in its recent operations against the militants in

Federally Administered Tribal Areas The Federally Administered Tribal Areas, commonly known as FATA, was a semi-autonomous tribal region in north-western Pakistan that existed from 1947 until being merged with the neighbouring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018 through the ...

and

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. On 9 December 2007, Tariq Khan received United States

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

for meritorious services as a liaison officer at CENTCOM during

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

Awards and decorations

Foreign Decorations

References

External links

VIDEO: Interview of Maj. Gen. Tariq Khan (Urdu)55th PMA Long Course55 PMA Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Tariq Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Pakistan Army lieutenant generals Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Pashtun military personnel People of the insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan Armoured Corps officers Tank District Army Burn Hall College alumni