Gul Hassan Khan

Gul Hassan Khan
گل حسن خان
Khan photographed as a major general
6th Commander-in-Chief
of the Pakistan Army
In office
(acting)
20 December 1971 – 21 January 1972
PresidentZulfikar Ali Bhutto
Preceded byYahya Khan
In office
22 January 1972 – 3 March 1972
Ambassador of Pakistan to Greece
In office
April 1975 – 14 April 1977
Ambassador of Pakistan to Austria
In office
26 May 1972 – April 1975
Preceded byEnver Murad
Succeeded byAbdul Sattar
9th Chief of General Staff
In office
20 December 1968 – 19 December 1971
Preceded bySahabzada Yaqub Khan
Colonel Commandant
Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers
In office
September 1968 – February 1972
Preceded byBakhtiar Rana
Succeeded byAftab Ahmad Khan
Directing Staff
Staff College, Quetta
In office
30 June 1957 – 16 June 1959
Personal details
Born
Gul Hassan Khan[1]

9 June 1921
Quetta, Baluchistan (Chief Commissioner's Province)
Died10 October 1999(1999-10-10) (aged 78)
GHQ Artillery Mess, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Resting placePabbi, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan
Children1
EducationPrince of Wales Royal Indian Military College
Indian Military Academy
Staff College, Quetta[2]
United States Army Armor School
NicknameGeorge[3]
Military service
Branch/service British Indian Army (1942-47)
 Pakistan Army (1947-72)
Years of service1942-72
Rank Lieutenant General
UnitPakistan Army Armoured Corps
CommandsChief of General Staff
100 Independent Armoured Brigade Group
Battles/wars
AwardsSitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam (1965)
Sitara-e-Pakistan (1971)
Service numberPA-457[4]

Lieutenant General Gul Hassan Khan SPk SQA (Urdu: گل حسن خان; 9 June 1921 – 10 October 1999) known secretly as 'George', was a three-star rank Pakistan Army general and diplomat who served as the 6th and last Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, from 20 December 1971 until 3 March 1972, marking the shortest tenure in the role. Gul Hassan resigned along with Abdur Rahim Khan after they refused President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's request to deploy their forces to suppress a police strike protesting for a pay increase against Bhutto's government.

During the meeting, Bhutto initiated the discussion by saying, "Gentlemen, the country is going through one crisis after another and with the latest one being the strike by the police and for which no cooperation has been forthcoming from the army and the air force when asked for, I regret that a stage has come when we can no longer carry on like this. Therefore I am not prepared to run the government in this sort of an environment." As soon as Bhutto finished, Gul Hassan, known for his forthrightness, immediately stood up and confronted Bhutto, saying to his face, "Well that's all right Mr President but let me also make it clear that this kind of non-cooperation will continue if the demands placed on the services and especially on the army is not lawful. And as far as I am personally concerned I want to make it quite clear that I am ready to quit right now." After Gul Hassan's statement, Bhutto wore a mischievous smile and promptly handed over two file covers to Gul Hassan and Abdur Rahim Khan. Inside were resignation letters prepared for them to sign. Gul Hassan, showing contempt, threw the file back at Bhutto, who then attempted to shake his hand.[5] The office was renamed to Chief of Army Staff and Gul Hassan was succeeded by Tikka Khan.[6][3]

Throughout his career, he held the positions of Aide-de-camp to Cameron Nicholson, General Viscount Slim, and Governor-General of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Directing Staff Staff College, Quetta, Commander 1 Armoured Division, Chief of General Staff, Director Military Operations, and Commander 100 Independent Armoured Brigade Group.[2]

Notably, Gul Hassan was known for leading from the front. Once during training army officers, he wanted the artillery practice to mimic real war conditions. He had a bunker built at the target end of the Muzaffargarh range, which offered some security but was not completely safe, as a direct hit could destroy it. Despite the risk, Gul Hassan entered the bunker himself and instructed the gunners to fire with a narrow margin of error to test their training. He insisted that each artillery regiment take turns firing at the bunker to assess their skills. Colonel EAS Bokhari writes that "Luckily the units fired perfectly - and though Gen Gul was shaken in the bunker and came out of it with a lot of dust and fear of God in him - but he was quite safe. I have never seen any General Officer do this and ask for fire on a target where he himself was located."[7]

  1. ^ Hata, Ikuhiko (1988). Chronological List of Political, Diplomatic and Military Leaders of the World, 1840-1987. University of Tokyo Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-4-13-036051-7.
  2. ^ a b "Notable Graduates of the College". Command and Staff College, Quetta, Pakistan. Archived from the original on 27 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Sahabzada Yaqub and Gul Hassan: A Study in Contrast". 10 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Ex Pakistan Army Chiefs". Archived from the original on 12 December 2023.
  5. ^ Bhattacharya, Brigadier Samir (2014). Nothing But!. Partridge. p. 102-103. ISBN 978-1-4828-1720-1.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Dawn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Late Gen. Gul Hasan A Trainer of Men With A Difference". 1 February 2000. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016.