Syed Shahid Hamid

Syed Shahid Hamid HJ (; 17 September 1910 – 12 March 1993) was a two-star general in the Pakistan Army, and the first Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence.

Hamid was the first Master General of Ordnance (MGO) of the Pakistan Army before establishing the ISI in 1948. most notably Disastrous Twilight - A Personal Record of the Partition of India 1946-1947, an eyewitness account of being on the staff of the last British Commander in Chief of the Indian Army, Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck.

He was the grandfather of the British journalist, Mishal Husain.

Early life Hamid was born to a landowning Sayyid family in British India. He went to school at the Colvin Taluqdar school (Lucknow) in 1923 before going to the Aligarh Muslim University. He was accepted into the Royal Military College Sandhurst in 1932. During his time at Sandhurst, he excelled in tennis and represented the college in the sport.

He graduated and received a commission onto the Unattached List, Indian Army on 1 February 1934. He arrived in India on 16 February 1934 and was shortly afterwards attached to the 2nd battalion of the Prince of Wales Volunteers (South Lancashire) regiment at Allahabad.

On 12 March 1935, he was admitted into the Indian Army and was posted to the 3rd Cavalry at Meerut. His seniority as a Second Lieutenant was later antedated to on 31 August 1933. He was attached to the Royal Indian Army Service Corps in early 1940 and later permanently transferred. He served in Kohat, Fort Sandeman, and Risalpur. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 30 November 1935 and to Captain on 31 August 1941.

Military career Hamid fought in Burma in World War II, where his eyes were badly injured. He retreated from Rangoon and was evacuated from Shewbo to Calcutta. In 1943, after being declared fit for duty, he joined the Command and Staff College in Quetta for his Senior Instructor experience. Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck appointed Hamid his Private Secretary on 28 March 1946 and Hamid played an influential role in the decision making by Auchinleck.

His career led up to the Partition of India in 1947.

Post-ISI Senior appointments Hamid retired during the imposition of martial law in 1958, later serving as a minister on the Cabinet of Pakistan from 1978 to 1981. after first visiting in 1954 when the valley was only accessible on horseback or on foot.

Hamid spent his later years writing and researching books. He wrote six books on the Northern Areas, the politics of partition and the Pakistan army, and an autobiography. His son, Major General Syed Ali Hamid, continues his father's legacy as an author.

Shahid Hamid had numerous close friends in England, where he invariably spent the summer. 'Shaigan', his home in Rawalpindi, became very popular with foreign diplomats, journalists and military men. British cabinet ministers and US secretaries of state were also frequent visitors.

He maintained a close friendship with Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, whose mentorship and kindness he and other British Indian veterans enjoyed greatly.