ISLAMABAD: Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), Gen Rahimuddin Khan, was laid to rest in Lahore on Tuesday.

Gen Rahimuddin, who also remained governor of Balochistan and Sindh, had passed away on Monday.

Widely recognised for defusing the 1970s insurgency in Balochistan with broad-ranging peace measures, he was Balochistan’s longest-serving governor.

Enrolled as the first cadet of the Pakistan Military Academy, his early career was noted for refusing orders to besiege Wazir Khan Mosque during the 1953 Punjab disturbances.

As the CJCSC, he declined an extension in service in 1987, retiring at age of superannuation. A brief stint as civilian Sindh governor saw crackdowns on the budding MQM and the land mafia, before he quit over differences with then-president Ghulam Ishaq Khan.

CJCSC Gen Nadeem Raza, and the three services chiefs offered condolences to Gen Rahimuddin’s family, ISPR said.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2022