ISLAMABAD: Lieutenant General Javed Zia (r) took over as Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) chairman, replacing Dr Miftah Ismail who served as the company’s chairman from November 2013 to October 2017, a press release said on Saturday. Born in Karachi on February 23, 1954, Lieutenant General Javed Zia (r) served Pakistan Army for 40 years. His illustrious career culminated into his elevation as Southern Command commander in 2010-11. Prior to that, he served as Rangers Sindh director general, deputy chief of General Staff and as Pakistan Army adjutant general. On the corporate side, he has been Askari Bank chairman, Army Welfare Trust chairman, DHA Pakistan Governing Body senior executive member, DHA Islamabad executive head of and member of policy formulation board of Fauji Foundation’s Committee of Administration. Javed Zia served as Pakistan’s Ambassador to Libya from 2014 to 2016. Evacuation of approximately 8,000 Pakistanis from Libya to Pakistan stands out as one of his notable contributions during that period. He has also served as United Nations (UN) peace keeper at Somalia in 1993-94. Javed Zia has participated frequently in seminars held under the auspices of the United Nations to include seminars held at Tokyo in 2001 and at New York in 2016. He holds Master’s degrees in political science and in strategic studies. He is a graduate of Command and Staff College Quetta, United States Army Infantry School, and National Defence University Islamabad. Lieutenant General Javed Zia (r) is a recipient of Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) and UN Service Medal (Bar). Published in Daily Times, November 19th 2017.