Nauman Zakaria

Zakria received his early education at Cadet College Hasanabdal.^[1]

Zakaria was commissioned into the army in the 11th Cavalry via 80th PMA Long Course.^[2]

He served as the director-general of Military Operations (DG MO) and was also the general officer commanding (GOC) of the 41st Infantry Division in Khuzdar.^[2][3]

He has also served as the general officer commanding of the 9th Infantry Division, Kohat and held the role of Director General Military Operations (DG MO) along with Vice Chief of General Staff-Alpha (VCGS-A) during his career.^[4][5]

Under Zakaria's command, Pakistan Army successfully completed much of the fencing work on the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa portion of Pakistan-Afghanistan border barrier till 2018.^[6][7][8]

Zakaria served as a DGMO during critical period like one in 2019 Indo-Pakistan skirmishes, when two nuclear-armed neighbors were on the cusp of war. DGMO Zakaria was instrumental in undertaking military diplomacy to strike consensus with his Indian counterpart DGMO Lt General Paramjit Singh Sangha to reiterate 2003 Indo-Pakistan ceasefire agreement on LOC in 2021. The agreement was pivotal in the restoration of peace and normalcy on the LOC separating disputed region of Kashmir that was long marred with cross-border violations alleged by both sides against others' military.^[9][10][11]

The general was promoted to three star rank and appointed as Chief of Logistic staff. As per 2025, he is currently serving as the commander Central Command and commander of I Corps of Pakistan Army stationed at Mangla, Azad Kashmir since May 2024.^[12]

Zakaria commanded the striker I Corps during the 2025 India–Pakistan conflict, and was awarded Sitara-e-Basalat for his role in the conflict.^[13] He was conferred Hilal-i-Imtiaz and Sitara-i-Imtiaz as well.