Jamshed Gulzar Kiani

Jamshed Gulzar Kiani (Urdu: جمشید گلزار کیانی; b.20 July 1944 – 1 November 2008), , was a three-star rank army general in the Pakistan Army, intelligence officer and the former Colonel Commandant of the Baloch Regiment and commander of X Corps. Later, Kiani had served as a chairman of Federal Public Service Commission during the General Musharraf's regime and had to leave when he and the then Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz developed differences.

Biography Early life and military service Jamshed Gulzar Kiani was born on 20 July 1944 in Bombay, British India. He was educated at the Gordon College before accepting at the military academy. He attended and graduated from the Pakistan Military Academy in the class of 38th PMA Long Course, and gained commissioned in the Baloch Regiment as 2nd Lt. in 1964. He participated in the second war with India, leading a platnoon, and later joined the ISI as an intelligence officer. Capt. Kiani fought against the Indian Army on the eastern border but due to his objections on General Niazi's and his staff, he was recalled to back to Pakistan, avoiding becoming prisoner of war. However, the 7th Fleet never arrived due to Soviet Union's Pacific Fleet began trailing the American fleet, making it unable to assist in Pakistani defense. In 1980s, he went to attend the National Defence University (NDU) and graduated with MSc in War studies before posting back to the Military Intelligence (MI) where Colonel Kiani worked with then-Brigadier Pervez Musharraf on Siachen mission helping him to secure two intermediate posts, Bilafond La in Siachen Glacier.

Major-General Kiani's career remained hidden in the public until coming to the public notice when the news media identified him as the GOC-in-C of the X Corps, when the military takeover took place in October 1999. During the interview with Shahid Masood in Geo News, Kiani clarified his role by stating that he was the major-general during the coup d'état and was promoted to three-star assignment on 1 November 1999.

Lieutenant-General Kiani took over the command of the X Corps from the outgoing Lieutenant-General Mahmud Ahmed, which he led until 2001.

Kiani developed serious differences with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in 2006 over introducing of an ordinance. He had severe confrontation with Prime Minister Aziz and was of the view that the row between two men had become a personalized affair though he had pleaded President Musharraf not to drag the FPSC into a controversy. Kiani was succeeded by Shahid Aziz.

On 30 March 2006, Kiani resigned from the FPSC's chairmanship after the government reduced his tenure by two-and-a-half years through a presidential ordinance. On 13 May 2006, Kiani filed a petition of his dismissal in the Lahore High Court which was declined, therefore, Kiani filed a lawsuit against President Musharraf in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

A Supreme Court bench was constituted under Justice F.M. Khokhar and issued legal notices to President Musharraf, and Prime Minister Aziz's government to appear before the trial.

His funeral was attended a large number of people belonging to various walks of life besides including the Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Tariq Majeed, Corps Commander Rawalpindi Lieutenant General Tahir Mehmood, former COAS General Mirza Aslam Baig, former DG ISI General (Retd) Hameed Gul, Regional Police Officer (RPO) Nasir Khan Durrani, members of Pakistan Ex‑Servicemen Association, ex‑Generals, political figures, former Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar M. Anwar Khan, President and General Secretary of Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) Sardar Asmat Ullah Khan and Malik Siddique Awan and other lawyers. He was survived by his wife and three daughters.

Dissent and criticism on Musharraf

On 2 June 2008, Kiani appeared in Meray Mutabiq, a political talk show, on Geo News and was interviewed by Dr. Shahid Masood where he severely criticised President Pervez Musharraf and his role in Kargil and war on terror.

Criticism and legacy After his revelation, Kiani was widely criticised by the Major General (retired) Rashid Qureshi, the spokesperson of Pervez Musharraf. Qureshi leveled charges on him on ethicality and maintained that: "He showed sham loyalty and got promotions and lucrative appointments after retirement. On showing poor performance former Prime minister Aziz sacked him. If he was an upright person, he should have rejected appointment after retirement. Indeed, he was trying to benefit some political elements. During service he did not utter a single word against the policies of Musharraf", the Qureshi concluded."