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Shamim Alam Khan

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General
Shamim Alam Khan
NI(M) HI(M) SJ Sbt LoM
Shamim Alam Khan (1937–2021)
7th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
In office
17 August 1991 – 9 November 1994
Preceded byIftikhar Ahmed Sirohey
Succeeded byFarooq Feroze Khan
Personal details
Born
Shamim Alam

(1937-08-18)18 August 1937
Shillong, Assam, British Indian Empire
(now in Meghalaya in India)
Died9 December 2021(2021-12-09) (aged 84)
Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan
Military service
Allegiance Pakistan
Branch/service Pakistan Army
Years of service1954–1994
Rank General
Unit 20th Lancers, Armoured Corps
CommandsXXXI Corps, Bahawalpur
Chief of General Staff, Army GHQ
II Corps, Multan
Armoured Corps
Battles/wars
AwardsNishan-e-Imtiaz (Military)
Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military)
Sitara-e-Jurat
Sitara-e-Basalat
Legion d'honneur
Turkish Legion of Merit
Order of Military Merit

General Shamim Alam Khan (Urdu: شمیم عالم; 18 August 1937 – 9 December 2021), NI(M) HI(M) SJ SBt LoH, was a four star-rank general in the Pakistan Army who served as the 7th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1991 until retiring in 1994.[1]

Biography

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Shamim Alam Khan was born in Shillong, Meghalaya in India, into an Urdu-speaking family on 18 August 1937.: 208 [2] His father, Mahboob Alam Khan, was an officer in the Indian Civil Service who worked at an administration position at the Survey of India.[3] His mother, Nisa Begum, was a housewife.[3] Mahboob had nine children with Nisa among all joined the respected branches of the Pakistan Armed Forces.[3]

After the partition of India in 1947, the Alam family moved from Bangalore to Rawalpindi via train, witnessing the violence and riots that were taking place in the trains at the time of the partition in 1947.[4] Eventually, Mahboob Alam found employment at the Survey of Pakistan.[4]

After his matriculation, Alam went to attend the Lawrence College where he earned the diploma, which allowed to him to attend the Government College University (GCU) in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.[4] However, he left his studies at the GCU after he joined the Pakistan Army in 1954 which directed him to attend the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul.[4] In 1956, he passed out in the class of 14th PMA Long Course from the PMA Kakul, earning a commission in the 20th Lancers, Armoured Corps.[4] In 1958–60, Lt. Alam joined the elite Special Service Group (SSG), eventually was selected to be trained with the United States Army's Special Forces in Fort Bragg in North Carolina, United States.[4]

Upon returning, Major Alam participated in the second war with India in 1965, commanding a company against the Indian Army and his actions of valour earned him the Sitara-e-Jurat by the President of Pakistan in 1966.: 36 [5] In 1967–70, Maj. Alam went to the United Kingdom where he attended the British Army's Staff College in Camberley, and served in the 28th Cavalry in the Chamb sector on the western front of the third war with India in 1971.[4] After the war, Maj. Alam went to attend the National Defence University, along with his brother Lt-Cdr. Shamoon, as both graduated with MSc in War studies.[4] For sometime, Lt-Col. Shamim served a brief stint as an instructor at the Air War College in Islamabad.[4]

War and command appointments in the military

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In 1979–80s, Brig. Shamim served as the chief of staff in the I Corps, stationed in Mangla, before commanding the independent armoured brigade stationed in Balochistan.[4] From 1983 to 1985, Major-General Shamim was given the command as GOC of the 1st Armoured Division in Multan.[4]

In 1987 and 1988, Maj-Gen. Shamim's promotion was eventually deferred and overlooked by then-army chief and President Zia-ul-Haq when he only promoted the officer to the command assignment of his choosing.: 121 [6] However, Prime Minister Mohammad Junejo interfered in this matter, and eventually he was promoted to the command assignment with the officer of Zia's choosing.: 121 [6]: 16 [7]

In 1988, Lt-Gen. Shamim was posted on his first formation commanding assignment as the field command of the II Strike Corps, stationed in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan, which he served until 1989 when he was elevated as the Chief of General Staff (CGS) at the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi.[8] In April 1991, Lt-Gen. Shamim was made the field commander of the XXXI Corps, stationed in Bahawalpur, but this command assignment only lasted a few months when President Ghulam Ishaq Khan announced the promotion of the Lt-Gen. Shamim to the four-star rank– he superseded no one as he was the most senior army general in the military.: 29 [9]

Chairman joint chiefs

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On 8 November 1991, Gen. Shamim took over the Chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, and later went on to play a decisive role in support of Gen. Abdul Waheed, then-chief of army staff, to secure the resignations of both President Ghulam Ishaq and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to oversee the nationwide general elections in 1993.: 234 [10] On 26 November 1992, Gen. Shamim was appointed to the ceremonial post as Col-in-C of the Armoured Corps, which he remained until 18 December 1996.[11] In 1994, Gen. Shamim sought his retirement after completing his tenureship in 1994.: 123 [12]

Death

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Khan died from COVID-19 in Rawalpindi on 9 December 2021, aged 84, amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan.[13]

Awards and decorations

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Nishan-e-Imtiaz

(Military)

(Order of Excellence)

Hilal-e-Imtiaz

(Military)

(Crescent of Excellence)

Sitara-e-Jurat

(Star of Courage)

1965 War

Sitara-e-Basalat

(Star of Good Conduct)

Sitara-e-Harb 1965 War

(War Star 1965)

Sitara-e-Harb 1971 War

(War Star 1971)

Tamgha-e-Jang 1965 War

(War Medal 1965)

Tamgha-e-Jang 1971 War

(War Medal 1971)

10 Years Service Medal 20 Years Service Medal 30 Years Service Medal 40 Years Service Medal
Tamgha-e-Sad Saala Jashan-e-

Wiladat-e-Quaid-e-Azam

(100th Birth Anniversary of

Muhammad Ali Jinnah)

1976

Tamgha-e-Jamhuria

(Republic Commemoration Medal)

1956

Hijri Tamgha

(Hijri Medal)

1979

Jamhuriat Tamgha

(Democracy Medal)

1988

Qarardad-e-Pakistan Tamgha

(Resolution Day

Golden Jubilee Medal)

1990

Legion of Honour

Grand Officer Class

(France)

Turkish Legion of Merit

(Turkey)

Order of Military Merit

Grand Cordon

(Jordan)

Foreign Decorations

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Foreign Awards
 France Légion d'honneur
 Turkey Turkish Legion of Merit
 Jordan The Order of Military Merit (Grand Cordon)
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References

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  1. ^ "General Shamim Alam Khan". lawrencecollege.edu.pk. Lawrence College Ghora Gali Murree. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  2. ^ The Army Quarterly and Defence Journal. West of England Press. 1994. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Editorial contribution, News desk writers (11 September 2015). "The Alam Brothers in the Pakistan Armed Forces". The Nation. Islamabad: The Nation, 2015. The Nation. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Amin, A.H. (April 2002). "Remembering Our Warriors". www.defencejournal.com. Islamabad: Defence Journal. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  5. ^ Illustrated Weekly of Pakistan. Pakistan Herald Publications. 1966.
  6. ^ a b Abbas, Hassan (2015). Pakistan's Drift Into Extremism: Allah, the Army, and America's War on Terror. Routledge. ISBN 9781317463283. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  7. ^ Hussain, Mushahid; Hussain, Akmal; India), Centre for Policy Research (New Delhi (1993). Pakistan: problems of governance. Konark Publishers. ISBN 9788122003017. {{cite book}}: |first3= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ Khaled Ahmed. "The Death of Zia-Ul-Haq" Archived 27 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine Criterion Quarterly, April - June 2007. Issue - Vol. 2 No. 2
  9. ^ Impact International. News & Media. 1991. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  10. ^ Summary of World Broadcasts: Asia, Pacific. British Broadcasting Corporation. 1993. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  11. ^ "COLONEL IN CHIEF-ARMOURED CORPS-01". www.pakarmymuseum.com. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  12. ^ Sehgal, Ikram ul-Majeed (2006). Defence Journal. Ikram ul-Majeed Sehgal. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  13. ^ "Ex-JCSC chairman Gen Shamim Alam passes away". Dawn.com. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
[edit]
Military offices
Preceded by
Mian Muhammad Afzaal
 Chief of General Staff
1989 – 1991 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
1991 – 1994 		Succeeded by
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