Ziauddin Butt
Encyclopedia
General Ziauddin Khawaja, also known as Ziauddin Butt, is a four-star general of the Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...

 and a career operations and infantry formations commander, head of intelligence
Intelligence officer
An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile and/or analyze information which is of use to that organization...

 and engineering officer
Engineer Officer
An Engineer Officer is one type of officer in the UK Royal Navy. There are also Warfare Officers and Logistics Officers supported by additional branches such as Medical or Dental Officers, or the Chaplaincy Service....

. He was one of the most prominent and successful commanders in Pakistan Army and was described as a "genius general" by all three of the former army chiefs (General Beg
Mirza Aslam Beg
General Mirza Aslam Beg, SBt, HI, NI, afwc, psc , is a retired four-star general who was the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army succeeding General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, after the latter died in an air crash on 17 August 1988...

, General Kakar and General Karamat
Jehangir Karamat
General Jehangir Karamat, NI, TBt, afwc, psc, fsc, is a retired four-star general and a renowned military scientist who served as the former Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army from January 1996 to October 1998, and then former Pakistan Ambassador to the United States from November 2004 to June...

).

Ziauddin has served as Director-General
Director-general
The term director-general is a title given the highest executive officer within a governmental, statutory, NGO, third sector or not-for-profit institution.-European Union:...

 of Pakistan's premier intelligence agency ISI
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...

. He was nominated for the post of Pakistan Army chief
Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army
The Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Army, shortly abbreviated as COAS, is the highest staff post in the Pakistan Army, held by the senior 4-star rank officer. It is the highest and most prestigious 4-star assignment, unless the 4-star officer is appointed as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of...

 on Oct 12, 1999 by then-Prime minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...

 Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...

 after the dismissal of General Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...

, who had begun a coup against the government. The coup went ahead regardless of this appointment as Ziauddin told his supporters not to resist the move as it would cause dangerous in-fighting amongst the army. Both Sharif and Ziauddin were arrested by the coup-makers and taken to different locations. Ziauddin was kept in solitary confinement for two years, and was subject to three army investigations which aimed to find some element of wrong-doing on his part. Musharraf decided to use a 'scouts penalty' – a discretionary punishment not requiring a crime, to dismiss General Ziauddin from service.

Army career

Ziauddin was commissioned in Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...

 in the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers
Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers
The Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers, , is an active military administrative staff corps, and a major science and technology command of the Pakistan Army...

, a technical combat arm in October 1964 in the 30th PMA Long Course
Pakistan Military Academy
The Pakistan Military Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service military academy. It is located at Kakul near Abbottabad in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan....

. General Ziauddin received his B.Eng. in civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...

 in 1968.

Kamran Khan of The News wrote disparagingly about Ziauddin in a news column called "the news/national intelligence unit (NIU)". General Rashid Queraishi was quoted as saying "General Ziauddin was one of the best generals in our army's history, so now we have to change the history". Subsequently, Kamran Khan and others claimed that all of General Ziauddin's accomplishments were because of Nawaz Sharif.

Ziauddin was promoted to Lieutenant-General on February 25, 1996 and made the Corps Commander of 30 Corps at Gujranwala by General Jehangir Karamat, who was then COAS. After serving as the Corps Commander, Ziauddin was posted as the Adjutant General
Adjutant general
An Adjutant General is a military chief administrative officer.-Imperial Russia:In Imperial Russia, the General-Adjutant was a Court officer, who was usually an army general. He served as a personal aide to the Tsar and hence was a member of the H. I. M. Retinue...

 (AG) of the army, a Principal Staff Officer (PSO) position where he was serving at the time of the promotion of General Musharraf to the Army chief in October 1998. When Lieutenant Generals Ali Kuli Khan Khattak and Khalid Nawaz were superseded by General Musharraf, General Ziauddin moved to second slot in the seniority list of the army, second only to Musharraf himself. He was subsequently assigned to head the Inter-Services Intelligence
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence , is Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, responsible for providing critical national security intelligence assessment to the Government of Pakistan...

 (ISI) by Prime minister Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...

, after replacing Lieutenant-general Naseem Rana
Naseem Rana
Lieutenant-General Naseem Rana is a retired three-star general in the Pakistan Army, who in the course of Pakistan war in Afghanistan, played a pivotal role in leading the ISI in promoting Pakistani Interest during the Afghanistan Civil War to provide help to irregular hardline Taliban forces...

 who was posted as Master-General Ordnance
Master General of Ordnance (Pakistan)
The Master General of Ordinance of the Pakistan Army is one of the five principal officers assisting the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army in his duties, operating from army headquarters in Rawalpindi...

. (MGO). He was also one of the senior most generals ever to occupy the post of Intelligence Chief (DG ISI) and is credited with major revamping and evolution of the agency and its operations.
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