Lieutenant General (R) Hamid Gul (20 November 1936 – 15 August 2015) Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) and Sitarah-e-Basalat

Lt General (R) Hamid Gul was celebrating Independence Day with his family in Murree when on Saturday evening he suffered brain haemorrhage. He was taken to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Murree immediately but despite of best efforts by the doctors, he could not be saved and pronounced dead. Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, prominent army and government officials attended his funeral today and he is buried at Army Graveyard, Rawalpindi.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Army chief General Raheel Sharif, Governors, Chief Ministers and people from all walks of life expressed deep sorrow and extended their condolences to the bereaved family.

Lt General Hamid Gul a retired three-star general in the Pakistan Army and also known as an authentic defence analyst and a former spymaster. He was born on 20 November 1936 to Muhammad Khan in Sargodha of Punjab Province, which was then the part of Great India.

Hamid Gul was commissioned in the Pakistan Army in October 1956 with the 18th PMA Long Course in the 19th Lancers regiment of the Armoured Corps. He was a squadron commander during the 1965 war with India.

He attended the Command and Staff College Quetta in 1968-69.

During 1972–1976, Gul directly served under General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq as a battalion commander, and then as Staff Colonel, when General Zia was GOC 1st Armoured Division and Commander II Corps at Multan.

Hamid Gul was promoted to Brigadier in 1978 and steadily rose to be the Martial Law Administrator of Bahawalpur and then the Commander of the 1st Armoured Division, Multan in 1982.

General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq nominated him to be the ISI chief succeeding General Akhtar Abdur Rahman in March 1987. He served as ISI chief from March 29, 1987 and October 4, 1989. He retired from service in 1992.

He was also awared Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) and Sitarah-e-Basalat for his services.

Credits: Wikipedia, Social Media (official facebook page of Lt Gen Hamid Gul)

Wishing you all a very happy and peaceful Independence Day. May the years ahead bring prosperity and well being to Pakistan (Ameen). On this occasion, please remember those people in your prayers who gave their lives in this noble cause and also those who are protecting us, day and night, from the enemies of Pakistan and its Ideology.
Pakistan – Zindabad