Major General Shaukat Sultan was the Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations of the Military of Pakistan. He took over the post from Major General Rashid Qureshi in June 2003. He was the public face of the Pakistan Army and spokesperson of Pakistan's military efforts against armed resistance in the Balochistan region, military operations in Waziristan and the war against Al-Qaeda near Pakistan-Afghanistan border. He was replaced by Major General Waheed Arshad as the DG ISPR on March 1, 2007, and was posted as GOC Lahore.
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Personal background
Major General Shaukat Sultan Khan was commissioned in Pakistan Army in the infantry in August 1972. He is a graduate of United States Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, GA, Command and Staff College, Quetta, and National Defence College, Islamabad. He holds a Masters degree in War Studies from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. He is married and has three children.
Military career
His command assignments include command of his parent battalion, a Brigade on the Line of Control, and a Brigade in the Strike Corps. His Staff assignments include Brigade Major in Azad Kashmir, and Director Military Operations.
He has been on the faculty of Pakistan Military Academy, School of Infantry & Tactics, Command and Staff College and National Defence College. He has also served as UN Military Observer in the UN Mission in Bosnia in 1995-96. He was promoted Major General in June 2003 and was appointed as Director General Inter Services Public Relations. He was given the additional responsibility of Press Secretary to the President of Pakistan in June 2004. Major General Shaukat Sultan was then appointed General Officer Commanding at Lahore in March 2007 after completing his tenure as Director General of ISPR.
Criticism
The Pakistani government suggestion that Osama bin Laden, the world's most wanted terrorist, could be its untroubled guest came in course of an interview to ABC News by its spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan. If he is in Pakistan, bin Laden "would not be taken into custody," Major General Shaukat Sultan told ABC News in an interview, "as long as one is being like a peaceful citizen."[1] Sultan's comments came in the context of questions in the US about the withdrawal of Pakistani military from Waziristan under a deal with pro-Taliban militants, a development that has been greeted in the US media with headlines such as "Pakistan surrenders to Taliban." Analysts attribute this blunder more to the General Sultan’s lack of understanding to diplomatic norms and language barrier. “While it would be unjust to accuse General Shaukat Sultan of lying, the fact of the matter is that he was not clear what he is uttering” says Richard Nicole – who heads South Asia desk among the American think tank. “Let's hope he misunderstood the original question”, concludes The Indepundit. “My point being that Gen. Sultan is not announcing Pakistan's policy in the matter. He's telling people what the practical reality is based on the operations of the actual authority in the region”, noted the Hindu site.
