Gul Hassan Khan

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Lieutenant General Gul Hassan Khan SPk SQA
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
President	Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Preceded by	Yahya Khan
In office 22 January 1972 – 3 March 1972
Succeeded by	Tikka Khan (as Chief of Army Staff)
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 by	Enver Murad
Succeeded by	Abdul Sattar
8th Chief of General Staff
In office 20 December 1968 – 19 December 1971
Preceded by	Sahabzada Yaqub 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 Command and Staff College Quetta
In office 30 June 1957 – 16 June 1959
Personal details
Born	Gul Hassan Khan[1] (1921-06-09)9 June 1921 Quetta, Baluchistan (Chief Commissioner's Province)
Died	10 October 1999(1999-10-10) (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 Command and Staff College Quetta[2] United States Army Armor School
Nickname	George[3]
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 1 Armoured Division Director for Military Operations 100 Independent Armoured Brigade Group
Battles/wars	World War II Burma Campaign Battle of Kohima Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 Indo-Pakistani war of 1971
Awards	Sitara-e-Quaid-i-Azam (1965) Sitara-e-Pakistan (1971)

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, serving from 20 December 1971 until 3 March 1972, the shortest tenure. Gul Hassan resigned along with Abdur Rahim Khan after they refused Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's request to use their forces to end 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]

Gul Hassan held the positions of ADC to Cameron Nicholson, General Viscount Slim, and Governor-General of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Directing Staff Command and 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]