General Abdul Waheed Kakar, NI(M), SBt, afwc, fsc(c) (born 20 March, 1937) was the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army from 12 January, 1993 to 12 January, 1996. He was appointed to that position after the sudden death of former General Asif Nawaz, superseding four senior generals. As the political climate of the country simmered during his tenure, Kakar pressured both the President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif into resigning, thus precipitating in the 1993 general elections.
Early life
General Abdul Waheed Kakar was born on March 20, 1937, at Peshawar, British India. A nephew of Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar, he received his education at the Edwardes College, Peshawar. His ancestors, however, came from Balochistan and belonged to Kakar tribe. His great grandfather migrated from Balochistan and settled in Peshawar.
Military career
Kakar was commissioned in the Frontier Force Regiment on 18 October, 1959 in the 20th PMA Long Course. He is a graduate from Command and Staff College, Canada and National Defence College, Rawalpindi. He saw active service in the 1965 Indo-Pakistani war with an FF unit in Chawinda and as brigade major of an independent infantry brigade in Sulemanki sector in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war - both scenes of major battles in the respective wars.
Later in his career, Kakar served as Chief of Staff of a Corps and subsequently commanded an infantry brigade. Promoted major general in 1984, he commanded an infantry division in Sindh for three years. Later, he served as Adjutant General at General Headquarters from 1987 to 1989. During that post, Kakar refused to admit a student in the Army Medical College, Rawalpindi despite direct orders from President General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, but was forced to do so as the President ordered the increase of overall seats that accommodated the student. On being promoted Lieutenant General in 1989, he was appointed Commander XII Corps at Quetta.
Appointment as Chief of Army Staff
President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came into public on the appointment of the Chief of Army staff after the sudden death of General Asif Nawaz in January 1993. Nawaz Sharif wanted to place his own candidate in the vacant position, against the wishes of both the army and the President. Considering Sharif's intentions a direct threat to his political authority, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan used his constitutional privilege effectively to place his candidate, General Abdul Waheed Kakar Commander XII Corps in Quetta, as commander-in-chief superseding many seniors.
Nawaz Sharif reportedly threatened "not to let the new COAS work". Within 24 hours of a statement by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that the appointment of the new COAS would take some time, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan had named General Abdul Waheed as the COAS on January 11 and Nawaz Sharif was told about the new appointment just a few minutes before the ceremony. It was the first public setback to the Prime Minister.
With Kakar's appointment, at least four senior generals were superseded: Lt Gen Rehm Dil Bhatti, commandant National Defence College, Rawalpindi; Lt Gen Muhammad Ashraf, commander IV Corps, Lahore; Lt Gen Farrakh Khan, chief of general staff (CGS); and Lt Gen Arif Bangash, quarter-master general (QMG) Among these generals, the last two opted to stay in the army.
Tenure as COAS
After taking over as COAS, Kakar who forced both Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Nawaz Sharif to hand over their resignations at the height of the political and constitutional crisis in 1993. This resulted in the 1993 general elections, in which Benazir Bhutto came into power. After his appointment, a member of the National Assembly remarked, "the era of the Pakhtoons has begun." The president belonged to the Frontier province and so did the new Chief of Army Staff.
During his tenure, General Kakar is remembered for starting the Shaheen Nuclear Missile Project.
Thwarting coup attempt
In September 1995, General Abdul Waheed Kakar discovered a plot by a group of army officers headed by Major-General Zahirul Islam Abbasi, acting in complicity with the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami a militant group, to assassinate him and Benazir Bhutto, the then prime minister, and capture power. This plan was foiled and those involved captured and arrested. General Abbasi was however released after a few years.
Also See
