Abdul Waheed Kakar General Abdul Waheed Kakar , NI ( M ) , HI ( M ) , SBt , afwc , fsc ( c ) ( 20 March 1937 – ) , was the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army from 12 January 1993 to 12 January 1996 . He was appointed to that position after the sudden death of former General Asif Nawaz , although there were four generals with more seniority . As the political climate of the country simmered during his tenure , Kakar pressured both the President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif into resigning , thus precipitating in the 1993 general elections . Early life . General Abdul Waheed Kakar was born on 20 March 1937 at Peshawar , British India ( now Pakistan ) . A nephew of Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar , he received his education at the Edwardes College , Peshawar . His ancestors belonged to the Kakar Pashtun tribe from what is now Balochistan . His great grandfather migrated north and settled in Peshawar . Military career . Kakar was commissioned in the Frontier Force Regiment on 18 October 1959 in the 20th PMA Long Course . He is a graduate from Command and Staff College , Canada and National Defence College , Rawalpindi . He saw active service in the 1965 Indo - Pakistani war with an FF unit in Chawinda and as brigade major of an independent infantry brigade in Sulemanki sector in the 1971 Indo - Pakistani war - both scenes of major battles in the respective wars . Later in his career , Kakar served as Corps Chief of Staff to General Rahimuddin Khan and subsequently commanded an infantry brigade . Promoted major general in 1984 , he commanded an infantry division in Sindh for three years . Later , he served as Adjutant General at General Headquarters from 1987 to 1989 . During that post , Kakar refused to admit a student in the Army Medical College , Rawalpindi despite direct orders from President General Muhammad Zia - ul - Haq , but was forced to do so as the President ordered the increase of overall seats that accommodated the student . On being promoted Lieutenant General in 1989 , he was appointed Commander XII Corps at Quetta . Appointment as Chief of Army Staff . With Kakar ' s appointment , at least four senior generals were superseded . Lt Gen Rehm Dil Bhatti , commandant National Defence College , Rawalpindi ; Lt Gen Mohammad Ashraf , commander IV Corps , Lahore ; Lt Gen Farrakh Khan , chief of general staff ( CGS ) ; and Lt Gen Arif Bangash , quarter - master general ( QMG ) . Among these generals , the last two opted to stay in the army . Tenure as COAS . After taking over as COAS , Kakar who forced both Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Nawaz Sharif to hand over their resignations at the height of the political and constitutional crisis in 1993 . This resulted in the 1993 general elections , in which Benazir Bhutto came into power . After his appointment , a member of the National Assembly remarked , " the era of the Pakhtoons has begun . " The president belonged to the Frontier province and so did the new Chief of Army Staff . During his tenure , General Kakar is remembered for starting the Shaheen Nuclear Missile Project . Thwarting coup attempt . In September 1995 , General Abdul Waheed Kakar discovered a plot by a group of army officers headed by Major - General Zahirul Islam Abbasi , acting in complicity with the Harkat - ul - Jihad - al - Islami a militant group , to assassinate him and Benazir Bhutto , the then prime minister , and capture power . This plan was foiled and those involved captured and arrested . General Abbasi was however released after a few years . Legacy . Mahmood Khan Achakzai , the then MNA had this to say about the new COAS in 1993 , " this is not a General of the Sandhurst colonial brand . I welcome an enlightened man from the rigid mountains of Zhob . He has the professional skills for improving the performance of the Pakistan Army . But more than that he is intelligent enough to comprehend politics and will promote the democratic process . General Waheed is not a religious extremist . "