Habibullah Khan Khattak

Lieutenant General Habibullah Khan Khattak (October 17, 1913 - 1994) was born in Wana, Waziristan, British India, now part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan. His son Ali Kuli Khan also rose to the rank of Lt Gen and retired as the Chief of the General Staff (CGS) in 1998. His son like him belonged to the famed Baloch Regiment.

Action in World War

After completing intermediate education from Islamia College, Peshawar, he was one of the 25 people selected from British India for the First Course at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. He was commissioned in the Indian Army in 1934, and during the World War II he campaigned in Burma and was amongst a handful of native officers to have commanded an infantry battalion at war. For his services, he was awarded the 3rd highest Civilian Award of Sitara-e-Pakistan, which follows Nishan-e Pakistan and Hilal-e-Pakistan.

Pakistan Army Career

His meteoric rise in Pakistan Army saw him as a two star general at the age of 40 and at this rank he held the appointment of a Divisional Commander, Chief of Training Pakistan Army, Chief of General Staff and the First Military Commander of the Baghdad Pact. In December 1958, he graduated from the Imperial Defence College, London (now the RCDS) and was promoted to Lieutenant General rank and appointed as Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Army. He was prematurely retired at the age of 46.

Politics

After his premature retirement from the Army, Khattak became closely involved in the industry. He also served as a federal minister during Zia-ul Haq's time and made an abortive attempt to contest elections from his home constituency of Karak.