General Sir Douglas Gracey relinquished the command of the Pakistan Army on 23 January 1951, under pressure of calls for "nationalisation" of the army. The Pakistan government already called for appointing native commanders-in-chief of army, air force, navy and dismissed deputation appointments from the British military. The General Headquarters sent the nomination papers to Prime Minister's Secretariat for the appointment of commander-in-chief. There were four-senior officers in the race: Major-General Akbar Khan, Major-General Iftikhar Khan, Major-General Ishfakul Majid, and Major-General N.A.M. Raza, among these officers Akbar was the senior-most as he was commissioned in 1920.