Mirza Aslam Beg
| Date of Birth: | --- |
|---|---|
| Date of Death: | --- |
| Tenure Order: | 9th Chief of the Army Staff |
| Took Office: | 1988 - 1991 |
| Predecessor: | Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq |
| Successor: | Gen. Asif Nawaz Khan Janjua |
Mirza Aslam Beg was Chief of Army Staff, Pakistan, succeeding General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.General Mirza Aslam Beg was vice chief of army staff in General Zia ul-Haq's military administration, and after Zia's death in a plane crash he was immediately made chief in August 1988. He was born in Azam Garh, British India. Zia's son ,Ejaz ul Haq as well as son of late Director General ISI Akhtar Abdur Rahman, Humanyun Akhtar have blamed Beg in the press for being behind the crash, the cause of which was never officially established.
After Zia's death, Beg helped Pakistan to a peaceful transition of power through general elections after which the Pakistan People's Party's (PPP's) Benazir Bhutto became premier. In the meantime, Beg's then director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Lieutenant-General Hamid Gul, and Beg were accused of gathering all right-wing parties under the umbrella of the Islamic Democratic Alliance against the PPP.
Beg remained a powerful chief of army staff until 1991, a period in which Pakistan developed nuclear weapons.
After his retirement Beg remained a controversial figure, both for his alleged role in a Bank scandal and the nuclear proliferation issue. Former Air Marshal Asghar Khan filed a petition in the Supreme Court (HRC 19/96) against the retired COAS General Mirza Mohammad Aslam Beg, the former ISI chief retired Lt General Asad Durrani and Younis Habib of Habib and Mehran Banks, relating to the disbursement of public money and its misuse for political purposes, which is still pending hearing by the court. The case was initiated by the air marshal after Benazir Bhutto's interior minister, another retired general, Naseerullah Babar, had disclosed in the National Assembly in 1994 how the ISI had disbursed funds to purchase the loyalty of politicians and public figures so as to manipulate the 1990 elections and bring about the defeat of the PPP. Aslam Beg managed to get Rs 140 million from Younis Habib and deposited in the 'Survey Section 202' account of Military Intelligence (then headed by Major-General Javed Ashraf Kazi). From there Rs 6 crore was paid to President Ghulam Ishaq Khan's election cellmates (General Rafaqat, Roedad Khan, Ijlal Hyder Zaidi, etc.), and Rs 8 crore transferred to the ISI account.
He founded a policy think-tank called Friends[1] and the non-political Awami Qaiyadat Party (National Leadership Party) and continued to be a powerful part of Pakistan's ruling oligarchs.
President General Pervez Musharraf served under both Beg and Gul, and apparently had high respect for them, but after September 11 2001, they gradually drifted apart. Their differences surfaced for the first time when in a press conference Musharraf spoke about the negative role of a few generals and called them "pseudo-intellectuals".
Beg raised a storm in 1991 when he publicly refused to send troops to the Persian Gulf (troops were sent later, but only to be deployed for the safeguard of holy places in Saudi Arabia) to take part in the action against Iraq. This, for the first time, strained relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Beg who held the position of COAS from 1988 to 1991, is frequently mentioned as being pivotal in the network, and in aiming to build an Iran–Afghanistan–Pakistan nexus to challenge US influence and Israel.
Beg is one of very few Chiefs of Staff of the Pakistan Army who have left office in a routine fashion.
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