Former ISI chief Hamid Gul passes away

General (Retd) Hamid Gul, who had served as the chief of the Inter Service Intelligence (ISI), died of a brain haemorrhage late Saturday, according to a DawnNews report.

His body was shifted to his house in Rawalpindi.

He was born on 20 November 1936 in Sargodha in British Indian Empire.

The three-star general was commissioned in the Pakistan Army in October 1956 with the 18th PMA Long Course in the 19th Lancers regiment of the Armoured Corps.

He was a squadron commander during the 1965 war with India. He received training from the Staff college Quetta during 1968-1969.

During General Zia’s regime, Gul was promoted to Director-General Military Intelligence (DGMI).

Gul had been strongly criticised for his role as head of the ISI during the Soviet war in Afghanistan.

Hamid Gul was a resigned high-positioning general officer in the Pakistan Army, and served as the chief general of ISI somewhere around 1987 and 1989 around the end of the Soviet war in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed his heartfelt condolences over the demise of Lt. Gen.(retd.) Gul.

General also remained active on the political scene as well, both during and after his career, with his formation of Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) and his support for the reinstatement of former Chief Justice of Pakistan Chaudhary Iftikhar.