Sawar Khan

Sawar Khan NI(M) HI(M) SBT
1st Vice Chief of Army Staff
In office 1 May 1980 – 23 March 1984
President	Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
Succeeded by	General Khalid Mahmud Arif
Personal details
Born	Sawar Khan 1 December 1924 Rawalpindi District, British Raj
Died	majority2
Resting place	Rawalpindi
Nationality	Pakistani
Spouse	Khadijah Bano
Parent	majority2
Residence(s)	Westridge 1 Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Alma mater	Officers' Training School (Bangalore, India)
Awards	Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military) Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) Sitara-e-Basalat
Military service
Allegiance	British India Pakistan
Branch/service	British Indian Army Pakistan Army
Years of service	1946-1984
Rank	General
Unit	Artillery
Commands	XI Corps Peshawar Adjutant General (AG) IV Corps, Lahore Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS)
Battles/wars	Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Post-Retirement Work	Community Service President Northern University, Nowshera Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa

General Sawar Khan سوار خان, NI(M) is an ex-four-star general of the Pakistan Army who was the Governor of the largest province, Punjab and the Vice Chief of Army Staff during the era of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, when Zia was simultaneously the Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan) and the President of Pakistan.

Military career

Sawar Khan was commissioned before the independence of Pakistan in 1947 into the Indian Army's Corps of Artillery. He later opted for Pakistan Army in 1947. As a captain, Sawar became the Instructor Gunnery (IG) at the Artillery School.

General Officer

He was promoted to Lt General on 24 March 1976 by General Zia-ul-Haq after he became the Chief of Army Staff superseding five other generals. Sawar Khan who at the time was serving as Adjutant General (AG) at the GHQ was sent as the Commander XI Corps, Peshawar, where he replaced the recently superseded Lt Gen Majeed Malik. He continued to serve in Peshawar till January 1978 when he was replaced by Lt Gen Fazle Haq. In 1978, Lt Gen Sawar Khan moved to Lahore to take over IV Corps as its Corps Commander. He took over from Lt Gen Iqbal Khan who proceeded as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VOAS), a newly created post.

Martial Law Administrator of Punjab

When Zia imposed martial law, the then Lt Gen Sawar Khan was sent as the governor of Punjab province in 1978, in addition to his responsibilities as Commander IV Corps, Lahore. He was part of small coterie of generals under General Zia ul-Haq, who determined the national security policies in the martial regime. The other generals were Lt Gen Faiz Ali Chishti (Commander X Corps, Rawalpindi), Lt Gen Jehanzeb Arbab (Governor of Sindh and Commander V Corps, Karachi), Lt Gen Iqbal Khan (CJCSC), and the other military governors of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan Fazle Haq and Rahimuddin Khan.

After two-year stint, he was replaced with Lt Gen Ghulam Jilani Khan and promoted to four-star general.

Nishan-e-Imtiaz
Awarded by the Sovereign, on the advice of the Government
Type	Award
Eligibility	Pakistani or Foreign citizen
Awarded for	The highest degree of service to the state, and for services to international diplomacy.
Status	Currently constituted
Sovereign	President of Pakistan
Sovereign	Prime minister of Pakistan
Grades	5 grade: Star (1st Class) Badge (Second Class) Ribbon (military only) Collar Chain (4th class) Medal (5th Class)
Statistics
First induction	19 March 1957
Precedence
Next (higher)	None
Next (lower)	Hilal-i-Imtiaz
Ribbons: military (only)

Vice Chief of Army Staff

In March 1980, when the post of the deputy chief of army staff (created by Zia-ul-Haq) was redefined and re-designated as the Vice Chief of Army Staff, General Sawar replaced Lt Gen Iqbal Khan. General Sawar was replaced by the Zia's deputy General Khalid Mahmud Arif in March 1984 after completing the four-year term. Sawar was a professional soldier and hailed from the Potohar plateau of north Punjab, which had been a traditional recruitment area for the British and the Pakistani armies.