A. 1970
B. 1971
C. 1972
D. None of these

Submitted by: Syed Nizakat Ali Shah

On 20 March 1972, the commander-in-chief post was renamed as “Chief of Army Staff (COAS)” with Lieutenant-General Tikka Khan elevated to four star rank to be appointed as army’s first chief of army staff. The Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army (reporting name: C-in-C) was normally the highest-ranking officer in the Pakistan Army from the country’s independence to 1972; it was the commander-in-chief of the army. 105  The C-in-C was directly responsible for commanding the army. It was an administrative position and the appointment holder had main operational command authority over the army.

Direct appointments to the command of the Pakistan Army came from the British Army Council until 1951, when the first native Pakistani commander-in-chief (General Ayub Khan) was nominated and appointed by the Government of Pakistan. 

The C-in-C was assisted by a deputy C-in-C until the late 1960s. The last deputy C-in-C was General Abdul Hamid Khan, who served until 1969. The C-in-C designation was changed to ‘Chief of Army Staff’ in 1972, General Tikka Khan was the first person to hold the new title.