Pervez Musharraf - Initial Military Career

Initial Military Career

In 1961, at age of 18, Musharraf entered the prestigious Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul. During his college years in PMA and initial joint military testings, Musharraf shared a room with PQ Mehdi of PAF and Abdul Aziz Mirza of Navy (both reached to four-star assignments and served with Musharraf later on) and after giving the exams and entrance interviews, all three cadets went to watch a world-acclaimed Urdu film, Savera (lit. Dawn), with his inter-services and college friends, Musharraf recalls, "In the Line of Fire" published in 2006. With his friends, Musharraf passed the standardise, physical, psychological, and officer-training exams, he also took discussions involving the socioeconomics issues; all three were interviewed by joint military officers who were designated as Commandants. The next day, Musharraf along with PQ Mehdi and Mirza, reported to PMA and thay were selected for their respecteive training in their arms of commission.

Finally in 1964, Musharraf graduated with a 29th PMA Long Course together with Ali Kuli Khan and his life-long friend Abdul Aziz Mirza (later four-star admiral). He was commissioned in the artillery regiment as second lieutenant and posted near the Indo-Pakistan border. During this time in the artillery regiment, Musharraf maintained his close friendship and contact with Mirza through letters and telephones even in difficult times when Mirza, after joining the Navy Special Service Group, was stationed in East-Pakistan as a military advisor to East Pakistan Army.