He returned from his six-month sojourn in East Pakistan (now called Bangladesh) weeks before the surrender at the end of the 1971 war. He saw action during the Balochistan insurgency in the 1970s. Over the years, he has commanded three brigades and served on the staff of a brigade, a division, and a corps; he has also been on the faculty of the infantry school, Command and Staff College, and the War Wing at the National Defence University, Islamabad. In 1998, he sought and obtained early retirement from the Army.