Hamid Gul
| Hamid Gul | |
|---|---|
| حمید گل | |
 |
|
| Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence | |
|
In office 29 March 1987 – 4 October 1989 |
|
| Preceded by | Akhtar Abdur Rahman |
| Succeeded by | Shamsur Rahman Kallu |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
20 November 1936 Sargodha, British Punjab, British Indian Empire |
| Died | 15 August 2015 (aged 78) Murree, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Citizenship | Pakistani |
| Alma mater |
Pakistan Military Academy Government College University, Lahore |
| Occupation | Retired army officer and former spymaster |
| Religion | Islam |
| Awards | Sitara-e-Basalat Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Pakistan
|
| Service/branch |
 Pakistan Army
|
| Years of service | 1956–1993 |
| Rank |
 Lieutenant General
|
| Unit | 19th Lancers, Army Armoured Corps |
| Commands | 1st Armoured Division, Multan DG Military Intelligence (DGMI) DG Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) II Strike Corps, Multan |
| Battles/wars |
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Soviet war in Afghanistan Battle of Jalalabad Afghanistan War of 1989 Operation Rakhshak |
Hamid Gul (Urdu: حمید گل; 20 November 1936 – 15 August 2015) HI(M), SBt, was a three-star general in the Pakistan Army, defence analyst and a former spymaster. Gul was notable for serving as the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, between 1987 and 1989. During his tenure, Gul played an instrumental role in directing ISI support to Afghan resistance groups against Soviet forces during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, in cooperation with the CIA. Among his possessions was a piece of the Berlin Wall, gifted to him by the Germans for "delivering the first blow" to the Soviet Union.
Gul was also widely credited for expanding covert support to Kashmiri nationalist groups against neighbouring rival India in the disputed Kashmir region from 1989, diverting focus from the fallout of the Soviet war. Gul earned a reputation as a "Godfather" of Pakistani geostrategic policies. Following an escalation of the Kashmir militancy in India and the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, he was accused by the United States of having ties to shady groups. However, Gul denied the allegations. Gul's tenure as the director of the ISI coincided with Benazir Bhutto's term as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Later, Gul played a role in the establishment of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad, a conservative political alliance formed to oppose Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
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Wikipedia