Ehsan ul Haq

Infobox Military Person
name= Ehsan ul Haq
lived= born September 22, 1949 (age 58)
placeofbirth=
placeofdeath=


caption=
nickname=
allegiance= flagicon|PAK Pakistan
branch=Pakistan Army
serviceyears= 1969–2007
rank= General
current position=
commands= 16th Infantry Division (Pano Akil)
DG Military Intelligence (DGMI)
XI Corps (Peshawar)
DG Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
unit= Army Air Defence (AAD)
battles=Indo-Pakistan War of 1971
awards= Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military)
Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military)
laterwork=
General (retd) Ehsan ul Haq (born September 22, 1949) was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Pakistan Military until October 8, 2007. After the military coup of 1999 in which General Pervez Musharraf came to power, General Ehsan was given some of the most important posts in the Pakistan Army which included commanding the Army corps in the restive tribal region and North West Frontier Province; directing the ISI, the principal intelligence body; and chairmaning Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military head of the three armed forces.

Army career

Ehsan ul-Haq graduated from PAF Public School, Sargodha in 1967 [ [http://www.ppss.edu.pk/achievements.htm 'PAF Public School Sargodha Alumni'] ] , and was commissioned in Army Air Defence regiment in October 1969 in the 41st PMA Long Course. While serving in the Army, General Ehsan commanded various Infantry and Air Defence divisions. Some of Ehsan's achievements consist of graduating from Command and Staff College, Quetta, and National Defence College, Islamabad. He was promoted Brigadier in June 1992 and Major General in June 1996. After promotion, Ehsan served as the GOC of 16th Infantry Division (Pano Akil) near Sukkur, Sindh. [ [http://199.238.130.165/news/dec97/123197.txt "Missle Firing Competition"] "Dawn", 31 December, 1997] He was decorated with Hilal-e-Imtiaz for his meritorious military services.

During the military coup of 1999, Gen Ehsan was Director General of Military Intelligence (DGMI), a post he continued till April 2001, when he was replaced by Major General Tariq Majid. He was then promoted as Lieutenant General and posted as the corps commander of the Peshawar Corps, a post he continued for few months till October 2001.

Director ISI

On May 14, 2001, Major General Ehsan was promoted to a three star general and by October 2001 was given the command of Inter-Services Intelligence, the intelligence body of Pakistan. This command changeover was part of a major reshuffle that took place after the events of 9/11, and with Pakistan siding with the United States in the War on Terror. This reshuffle was also important in a sense that Lieutenant General Mahmud Ahmed, the former ISI chief and a Taliban sympathizer, was prematurely retired ahead of US invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

After completing the 3-year term as ISI chief, in October 2004, General Ehsan was promoted to four-star general and was given the chairmanship of JCSC, replacing General Muhammad Aziz Khan, who was due to retire from the Pakistan Army. [ [http://www.dawn.com/2004/10/03/top1.htm 'Appointment of new CJCSC and VCOAS' ] ] General Ehsan superseded 10 senior generals in order to become the new CJCS. He retired from military service on October 8, 2007 and was replaced by General Tariq Majid as Chairman.

General Ehsan ul Haq was later nominated as the first ever Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Defence (AAD) on 18 December, 2004. The Colonel-in-Chief is usually the four-star general, and is the ceremonial head of his parent unit. General Ehsan was recommended to that position by General Pervez Musharraf. [ [http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/PRPresidentDirectiveDetail.aspx?nPRPresidentDirectiveId=83&nYear=2006&nMonth=3 "Air defence to be modernized says President"] "President of Pakistan Press Release", 18 December, 2004]

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