Gul Hassan | |
|---|---|
| گل حسن | |
 Khan as a Major General, c. 1965 | |
| 6th Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army | |
| In office (acting) 20 December 1971 – 21 January 1972 | |
| President | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto |
| Preceded by | Yahya Khan |
| In office 22 January 1972 – 3 March 1972 | |
| Ambassador of Pakistan to Greece | |
| In office April 1975 – 14 April 1977 | |
| Preceded by | Office Established |
| Succeeded by | S. Wajahat Hussain[1] |
| Ambassador of Pakistan to Austria | |
| In office 26 May 1972 – April 1975 | |
| Preceded by | Enver Murad |
| Succeeded by | Abdul Sattar |
| 10th Chief of General Staff Pakistan Army | |
| In office 20 December 1968 – 19 December 1971 | |
| Preceded by | Sahabzada Yaqub Khan |
| Succeeded by | M. Rahim Khan |
| Colonel Commandant Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers | |
| In office September 1968 – February 1972 | |
| Preceded by | Bakhtiar Rana |
| Succeeded by | Aftab Ahmad Khan |
| Directing Staff Staff College, Quetta | |
| In office 30 June 1957 – 16 June 1959 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gul Hassan Khan[2] 9 June 1921 Quetta, Baluchistan (Chief Commissioner's Province), British India |
| Died | 10 October 1999 (aged 78) GHQ Artillery Mess, Rawalpindi, Pakistan |
| Resting place | Pabbi, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College Indian Military Academy Staff College, Quetta[3] United States Army Armor School |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  British Indian Army (1942-47) Pakistan Army (1947-72) |
| Years of service | 1942-72 |
| Rank |   Lieutenant General |
| Unit | Pakistan Army Armoured Corps |
| Commands | Pakistan Army Chief of General Staff 100 Independent Armoured Brigade Group |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam (1965) Sitara-e-Pakistan (1971) |
| Service number | PA-457[4] |
Gul Hassan Khan (Urdu: گل حسن خان; 9 June 1921 – 10 October 1999) known secretly as 'George'[a], was a Pakistani former three-star rank general and diplomat who served as the sixth 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 against the government for a pay increase.[6]
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.[7] The office was renamed to Chief of Army Staff and Gul Hassan was succeeded by Tikka Khan.[6][5]
Throughout his career, he held the positions of Aide-de-camp (ADC) 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.[3]
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. (Retd) Colonel EAS Bokhari writes, "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."[8]
(Retd) Colonel Abdul Qayyum recalls that Gul Hassan was "short on strategic vision," "but he was a field commander par excellence - by our standards, at any rate. He almost equaled Patton in linguistic matters, but he was our version of Robert E. Lee in the field. Gul Hassan was warm, sincere, forthright, without a trace of cant or deceit, wholly committed to his command, bold and generous of spirit."[9]
- ^ "Former Ambassadors of Pakistan to Athens, Greece". Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Notable Graduates of the College". Command and Staff College, Quetta, Pakistan. Archived from the original on 27 July 2017.
- ^ "Ex Pakistan Army Chiefs". Archived from the original on 12 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Sahabzada Yaqub and Gul Hassan: A Study in Contrast". The Friday Times. 10 April 2020.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Dawnwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Bhattacharya, Brigadier Samir (2014). Nothing But!. Partridge. p. 102-103. ISBN 978-1-4828-1720-1.
- ^ "Late Gen. Gul Hasan A Trainer of Men With A Difference". 1 February 2000. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Qayyumwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).