Beg's tenure witnessed Benazir Bhutto being elected Prime Minister in November 1988, and the restoration of democracy and the civilian control of the military in the country.

[3] Beg was denied an extension from President Ghulam Ishaq Khan soon after in 1991, and replaced by General Asif Nawaz as chief of army staff.

[6][7] In 1996, Asghar Khan filed a human rights petition alleging that former Pakistan Army Chief General Beg and Pakistani ISI Chief Asad Durrani, under President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, established an election cell to manipulate the 1990 Pakistani general election in favor of Nawaz Sharif by purchasing politicians' loyalties.

Nearly 16 years later, Durrani finally admitted his role in a 2012 affidavit to the Supreme Court of Pakistan and stated that he had been ordered by Beg to disburse money to rivals of Benazir Bhutto's party.

In 2012, Habib stated that the money had been arranged at the behest of Ghulam Ishaq Khan and General Beg, in his affidavit to the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

[11][12][13] Mirza Aslam Beg was born in the small village, Muslimpatti,[14] in Azamgarh district, Uttar Pradesh in British India, to the Urdu speaking Muhajir family that was well known for its Mughal nobility, on 15 February 1928.

[15][16] His father, Mirza Murtaza Beg, was an advocate and practicing lawyer who had held a well known prestige and respected name in the law circles of the Allahabad High Court.

[20] Major Beg was deployed in Western Pakistan, in areas adjacent to Afghanistan, where his first combat experience took place when he led his company in removing the Nawab of Dir in Chitral in North-West Frontier Province.

[22] His open mindedness and arguments with his senior officer eventually led his transfer back to Pakistan and was threatened with facing the court martial.

[22] In 1971–72, he earned his MSc in War Studies, defending and publishing his thesis, entitled: "A journey of pain and fear" which provide critical analysis of state sponsored terrorism and its effects on geo-military positions of the countries.

[25] From 1994 to 1999, Beg continued his teaching at NDU and published his two books on national security, nuclear weapons development, defence diplomacy and international relations.

[28] In March 1979, chief of army staff, General Zia-ul-Haq, directed the II Strike Corps' "to ascertain the likely reaction of the Pakistan Armed Forces officers if Bhutto was hanged", in accordance to the Supreme Court's verdict.

: 278 [31] Though, General Beg did not supersede anyone and was the most senior, the promotion was notable due to the opposition shown by President Zia-ul-Haq who wanted Lieutenant-General Zahid Ali Akbar, an engineer, as vice army chief.

[33] In 1988, one Pentagon military official added that "Beg is hard to figure out and difficult to read his mindset unlike other Pakistan army generals, he hasn't been particularly friendly with the US.

"[33] Against the popular perception to take over, Beg endorsed Ghulam Ishaq Khan as president and ultimately called for new general elections which resulted in a peaceful democratic transfer of government to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with Benazir Bhutto as the Prime minister.

[37] Mirza Aslam Beg was endorsed by Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto who confirmed his four-star appointment as chief of army staff until 1991, when he was replaced by General Asif Nawaz.

[34] Beg testified that the "real causes behind the 'Pressler amendment' was significant as long as Pakistan was considered an important entity of weakening Soviet Union's influence in South Asia".

[40] Various writers greatly questioned his idea of "strategic depth", which aim to transfer of Pakistan's military science command in dense Afghanistan, against the war with India.

[42] Beg's role remained vital during and after the Soviet Union's troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and showed no intention to coordinate joint efforts with the U.S. to end the war in the country.

[43] Authors and media reporters maintained that Beg controversially proposed an intelligence contingency plan between the agencies of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran that would grow into the "core of the Muslim world".

One of the notable events as a stint as a chief of army staff during the end of Cold War took place in 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait amidst political tensions between two Arab countries.

[45][46] In 1990, he held state dinner for United States Central Command (SCENTCOM) commander General Norman Schwarzkopf where, together with Chairman Joint Chiefs Admiral Iftikhar Sirohey, brief the USCENTCOM on Pakistan Armed Forces battle preparations and military operational capabilities of Pakistan armed forces in Saudi contingent.

[44] After failing to persuade the government for his extension, Beg's later political ambitions forced then-president Ghulam Ishaq Khan to nominate General Asif Nawaz as the designated chief of army staff three months prior to his retirement.

[2] After Beg's retirement he continued the professorship at National Defence University in Islamabad, and remained active in country's political and military affairs.

Their acts have brought a bad name to Pakistan and professionality of the Armed Forces as well as intelligence agencies in the eyes of the nation, therefore, notwithstanding that they may have retired from service, the [Federal] Government shall take necessary steps under the Constitution and Law against them.

A report in The Friday Times contends that after taking over as Chief of Army Staff, General Aslam Beg began lobbying about "such cooperation with Iran" on nuclear technology as a part of his "strategy of defiance" of the United States.

[52] Earlier in 1988, the Shafiur Rehman Commission that was to establish the cause of the crash of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's plane concluded that because of Army's obstruction in the investigation, the real perpetrators behind the attack cannot be brought forward.

[56] Upon returning to civilian life, General Beg founded and established a policy think-tank institute in Islamabad, known as Foundation for Research on International Environment National Development and Security (Friends).