Former Director ISI
Born: 22 September 1949
Profession: Pakistan Army
Affiliation(s): Army Air Defence (AD)
Citizenship: Paksitani
Profile General Ehsan ul Haq (born September 22, 1949 in Mardan), is a retired 4 star general in the Pakistan Army who served as the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee 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 Committee, the Commander-in-chief of Pakistan Armed Forces.. Army career Ehsan ul-Haq graduated from PAF Public School, Sargodha in 1967,[1] 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 Aqil) near Sukkur, Sindh.[2] He was decorated with Hilal-e-Imtiaz for his meritorious military services. During the military coup of 1999, then Maj 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 Lt Gen Mahmud Ahmed, the former ISI chief and a Taliban sympathizer, was prematurely retired ahead of US invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee 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 Aziz Khan, who was due to retire from the Pakistan Army.[3] General Ehsan was eighth in seniority when he ascended to the four star post, hence superseding seven senior generals. Following were the senior-most Lieutenant Generals; Hamid Javed, Javed Hassan, Munir Hafiez, Ahsan Saleem Hyat (who was promoted to four-star post of VCOAS), Tariq Waseem Ghazi, Muhammad Akram, Syed Parwez Shahid, and Ehsan ul Haq. Haq 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 (AD) on December 18, 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.
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