Lieutenant General Khalid Ahmed Kidwai has led a meritorious military service spanning over 54 years. He has held a variety of prestigious command, staff and instructional appointments and is a graduate of Pakistan’s Command and Staff College, National Defence University, and the US Army Field Artillery School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma. After the May 1998 nuclear tests, Lt. General Kidwai pioneered the establishment of Pakistan’s National Command Authority (NCA) and was appointed as the founding Director General of Strategic Plans Division (SPD) in December 1998. He served as DG SPD for over 15 years, and since 2014, is an Advisor to the National Command Authority.

As DG SPD, he conceived, articulated and executed Pakistan’s nuclear policy and deterrence doctrines and translated these doctrines into a robust nuclear force structure, oversaw and ensured the establishment of the Army, Navy and Air Force Strategic Force Commands, including the development and operationalisation of a variety of nuclear weapons. He put in place state of the art Command and Control Systems, as well as an effective nuclear security regime for Pakistan’s Strategic Assets. He is also the architect of Pakistan’s civilian Nuclear Energy Vision-2050. Lt. General Kidwai has been awarded Pakistan’s highest civil award the Nishan-i- Imtiaz, the second highest civil award Hilal-i-Imtiaz, in addition to Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military).