General
Insignia with crossed swords and laurel device of a four-star general
Illustration of a general with corresponding stars
Country	Pakistan
Service branch	Pakistan Army
Abbreviation	Gen.
Rank	Four-star
Next higher rank	Field marshal
Next lower rank	Lieutenant General
Equivalent ranks	Admiral (Pakistan Navy) Air chief marshal (Pakistan Air Force)

General/pɑːkistɑːnidʒɛnərəl/;Urdu:جنرل; abbreviated asGEN) is afour-stargeneral officerrank of thePakistan Army, officially used by thegovernment of Pakistan to denote a supreme leader of the army.^[1][2] It is given to an army general officer (usually a lieutenant general) upon promotion or possibly a position advancement with abasic pay scale of 22 (BPS-22).^[3] It is the highest rank in thearmed services, immediately ranks above three-starlieutenant general and below five-starfield marshal. Since it is denoted by a four-star rank, it is equivalent to the rank ofadmiral andair chief marshal.^[4] The Pakistan army is led by a senior four-star general asChief of Army Staff (COAS). The army chief also serves as a senior member of theJoint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC).^[5] A new Chief of Army Staff is not always the most senior of the eligible generals; indeed, as of 2016, the new COAS has been the most senior candidate only four of fourteen times.^[6] Army general is a powerful rank in the country designed to command security affairs with military leadership privileges.^[7]

Theinsignia of a four-star general consists of shoulder stars, crossed swords and laurel device. The country's army is headed by two four-star officers, the COAS and theChairman of the JCSC, with distinct positions, powers and responsibilities.^[8][9] The COAS has the power to command the armed forces, to ask for the written opinion of the military, and to promote or dismiss other officers as commissioned by the army law.^[10]

Currently serving 4-star generals inPakistan army are mentioned below:

Four-star rank goes hand-in-hand with the positions of JCSC member and COAS, so this rank is not permanent. A general is directly nominated for appointment to four-star rank by thePresident of Pakistan in a joint effort with the prime minister who plays a key role in promoting, appointing or reappointment of a general. The term of service (or extension of an existing term of service) is usually decided as commissioned by the constitution.^[11][12] In case the reappointment or service extension is found ineligible or otherwise unauthorized, theSupreme Court may overrule the government order.^[13]

• List of serving generals of the Pakistan Army

• Pakistani generals
• Pakistan Army ranks
• Military insignia

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles containing Urdu-language text