Wahid Kakar
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General Abdul Wahid Kakar was Chief of Army Staff, Pakistan. President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came into public on the appointment of the Chief of Army staff after the sudden death of General Asif Nawaz in January 1993. Nawaz Sharif wanted to place his own candidate in the vacant position, against the wishes of both the army and the President. Considering Sharif's intentions a direct threat to his political authority, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan used his constitutional privilege effectively to place his candidate, General Abdul Wahid Kakar Commander XII corps in Quetta, as commander-in-chief superseding many seniors.
Nawaz Sharif reportedly threatened "not to let the new COAS work". Within 24 hours of a statement by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that the appointment of the new COAS would take some time, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan had named General Abdul Waheed as the COAS on January 11. What is more, Nawaz Sharif was told about the new appointment just a few minutes before the ceremony. It was the first public setback to the Prime Minister.
General Wahid Kakar is remembered for starting the Shaheen Nuclear Missile Project.
It was Kakar who forced Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Nawaz Sharif to hand over their resignations at the height of the political and constitutional crisis in 1993.
In September 1995, General Abdul Waheed Kakar discovered a plot by a group of army officers headed by Major-General Zahirul Islam Abbasi, acting in complicity with the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami an Extremist Group, to assassinate him and Benazir Bhutto, the then prime minister, and capture power.This plan was foiled and those involved captured and arrested. General Abbasi was however released after a few years.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by General Asif Nawaz |
Chief of Army Staff 1993–1996 |
Succeeded by General Jehangir Karamat |
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