Ahsan Saleem Hayat

He was a military brat, coming from a military family. Through his parents recommendations, he attended the PAF High School in Sargodha, Punjab.[1] Upon graduation, he went on to attend the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in the 11th War Course. He was given commission as a second lieutenant in the Pakistan Army Armoured Corps in 1968 and actively participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 on the western fronts.

As a brigadier, he commanded the elite 3rd Independent Armored Brigade based in Lahore from 1991 to 1993. In 1993, he was posted as deputy commandant and chief instructor of Command and Staff College in Quetta. He also served as director general planning, at the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Secretariat. He also served as the chief instructor of the Armed Forces War College at the then National Defence University in Islamabad before being promoted to lieutenant general in December 2000.[2]

He was commander of the V Corps at the time of his promotion to four star general, and he replaced General Yusaf Khan as the Vice Chief of Army Staff whose term expired in October 2004. Hayat was fourth in seniority when he ascended to the post. Lieutenant Generals Hamid Javaid, Javed Hassan, and Munir Hafiez were senior to him; hence standing superseded once Hayat was promoted. His term expired in October 2007. He was replaced by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who became the country's new Chief of Army Staff once General Pervez Musharraf retired from the army.

General Ahsan later became the colonel-in-chief of the Armoured Corps at the Armoured Corps Regimental Center, Nowshera on 5 May 2005, succeeding General Yusaf Khan.[6]