| Post: | Vice chief |
| Body: | the Army Staff |
| Flag: | Flag of the Pakistani Army.svg |
| Flagborder: | yes |
| Type: | Second in command of Pakistan army |
| Status: | Abolished |
| Abbreviation: | VCOAS |
| Reports To: | Chief of the Army Staff |
| Termlength: | 3 years, |
| Termlength Qualified: | Renewable once |
| First: | General Abdul Hamid Khan |
| Last: | General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani |
| Deputy: | Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Abolished) |
The Vice chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS) is the post that is principal deputy and second-in-command (S-in-C) of the Pakistan Army, reporting under the Chief of the Army Staff. The position was created in the existence of army chief is simultaneously the President of Pakistan, having taking over by imposing the martial law against the elected civilian government.[1] The post is now obsolete and no longer in existence with the army – the Chief of the General Staff now serves as the second-in-command in the army leadership.[2]
The function and scope of the vice army chief was to "exercise and perform all the powers and functions vested in the chief of army staff under the law. rules, regulations, orders, and instructions for the time being in the force."[1]
The vice army chiefs are considered to be the principle commander of the army but not altogether, as the vice army chief has to report to the army chief, specifically in taking decisions regarding the promotions.[1] The post of the vice army chief is a very senior position and the appointment holder is a four-star general.
All persons mentioned below have served as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff with distinction of General Abdul Hamid Khan who acted as the 'Chief of Staff' (COS) of the army under General Yahya Khan who was the President of Pakistan and also the holder of the post of Commander in Chief of the Pakistan Army. General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was the last vice chief of army staff till date.
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Unit of commission | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
| – | General Abdul Hamid Khan | 25 March 1969 | 20 December 1971 | 10th Baloch | ||||
| 1 | General Sawar Khan | 13 April 1980 | 22 March 1984 | 1st (SP) Med Regt Arty (FF) | [3] [4] | |||
| 2 | General Khalid Mahmud Arif | 23 March 1984 | 29 March 1987 | 11th Cavalry (FF) | [5] [6] | |||
| 3 | General Mirza Aslam Beg | 29 March 1987 | 17 August 1988 | 16th Baloch | [7] | |||
| 4 | General Yusaf Khan | 8 October 2001 | 6 October 2004 | Guides Cavalry | [8] | |||
| 5 | General Ahsan Saleem Hayat | 7 October 2004 | 7 October 2007 | 33rd Cavalry | [9] [10] | |||
| 6 | General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani | 8 October 2007 | 28 November 2007 | 5th Baloch | ||||