Gul Hassan Khan[a] (9 June 1921 – 10 October 1999) known secretly as George[b], was a Pakistani former three-star rank general and diplomat who served as the sixth and last Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, from 20 December 1971 until 3 March 1972, marking the shortest tenure in the role.

Gul Hassan resigned along with Air Marshal Abdur Rahim Khan, refusing President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's request to deploy their forces to suppress a police strike protesting against the government for a pay increase.

[6] During the meeting, Bhutto initiated the discussion by saying, "Gentlemen, the country is going through one crisis after another and with the latest one being the strike by the police and for which no cooperation has been forthcoming from the army and the air force when asked for, I regret that a stage has come when we can no longer carry on like this.

He had a bunker built at the target end of the Muzaffargarh range, which offered some security but was not completely safe, as a direct hit could destroy it.

Despite the risk, Gul Hassan entered the bunker himself and instructed the gunners to fire with a narrow margin of error to test their training.

(Retd) Colonel EAS Bokhari writes, "Luckily the units fired perfectly - and though Gen Gul was shaken in the bunker and came out of it with a lot of dust and fear of God in him - but he was quite safe.

"[8] (Retd) Colonel Abdul Qayyum recalls that Gul Hassan was "short on strategic vision," "but he was a field commander par excellence - by our standards, at any rate.

Gul Hassan was warm, sincere, forthright, without a trace of cant or deceit, wholly committed to his command, bold and generous of spirit.

[13] In March 1940, he appeared for the competitive entrance examination into the Indian Military Academy (IMA) at Dehra Dun but failed, not because of his academics, but because Hassan was late to his interview which was worth 500 marks on the exam.

[14] In January 1941, he took the exam again and received admission into the Indian Military Academy, where he would be known as an excellent Hockey player, gaining fame as a boxer.

[9] On 22 February 1942, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the British Indian Army into the 9th battalion of the Frontier Force Rifles and was later transferred to the Armoured Corps.

[20] After the Partition of British India, Gul Hassan opted for Pakistan and served as aide-de-camp to Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

[25][26] Chief of General Staff Gul Hassan acted as the Director of Exercise for an event aimed at assessing the technical skills and professional capabilities of various participating Pakistan Army units.

Mitha, it was Gul Hassan's lobbying at the GHQ which saved then Brigadier Zia-ul-Haq, the chief of Pakistan's military mission, from being sacked.

Brigadier Zia-ul-Haq, who was deployed to Jordan in 1971, was recommended to be court-martialed by Major General Nawazish to President Yahya Khan for disobeying GHQ orders by commanding a Jordanian armoured division against the Palestinians, as part of "Operation Black September" in which thousands were killed.

Abdul Hamid withheld crucial information from the GHQ, leaving them unaware of diplomatic developments and military plans.

[31] Despite warnings, Abdul Hamid failed to convey critical assessments to Yahya, who remained detached from the situation, "foolishly" declining a request for an urgent briefing by Gul Hassan.

Ali then sent Colonels Aleem Afridi and Agha Javed Iqbal to deliver a letter demanding Yahya Khan's resignation by 8 PM that night for being responsible for the loss of East Pakistan.

The two Colonels took the letter to Chief of General Staff Gul Hassan, who initially felt saddened by the defeat in the war and told them that he planned to leave the army.

However, upon learning about the contents of the letter from the two Colonels, Gul Hassan's mood brightened, and he went to Air Marshal Abdur Rahim Khan.

Ali refused stating that Abdul Hamid was too close to Yahya Khan and was just as responsible for the loss of East Pakistan.

[35] While Gul Hassan was not part of the Bangladesh genocide, a witness mentioned him in the Hamoodur Rahman Commission report for asking soldiers how many Bengalis they had shot during his visits to East Pakistan.

Gul Hassan refused, feeling that Bhutto, now the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, was aggravating wounds instead of healing them.

Gul Hassan later discovered Bhutto had brought the film from abroad and aired it on national television repeatedly until public outcry halted it.

He feared that Bhutto, as a skilled public speaker, would twist the situation to suggest Gul Hassan lacked courage.

[49] On 15 April 1977, in a letter of resignation, Gul Hassan condemned Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's leadership and called him a traitor for his role in the loss of East Pakistan.

Gul Hassan further accused him of failing the people of Pakistan, causing chaos and violence in the country, exploiting the nation for personal gain, and rigging the 1977 Pakistani general election.

"[40][50] Afterwards, Khan started a carpet business[16] and lived a quiet life, residing in two rooms of the GHQ's Artillery Mess.

"[51] Gul Hassan Khan died on 10 October 1999 and was buried in Pabbi in Nowshera District (Main town of Chirrat Cant, Chowki Mumriaz, Taroo Jaba, Akber Pura).

Prior to his death, Gul Hassan had a small amount of money in his bank account and instructed that his burial cloth be brought with it.