Mirza Aslam Beg | |
|---|---|
.jpg) General Beg in 1991 | |
| 3rdChief of Army Staff | |
| In office 17 August 1988 – 16 August 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Zia-ul-Haq |
| Succeeded by | Asif Nawaz Janjua |
| Vice Chief of Army Staff | |
| In office 29 March 1987 – 17 August 1988 | |
| Preceded by | Khalid Mahmud Arif |
| Succeeded by | Yusaf Khan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1928-02-15)15 February 1928 (age 97) Azamgarh district,United Provinces of British India |
| Alma mater | Shibli National College, Azamgarh (B.A.) Pakistan Military Academy National Defence College, Islamabad (MSc) |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  Pakistan Army |
| Years of service | 1949–1991 |
| Rank | General |
| Unit | Baloch Regiment |
| Commands |
|
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | See list |
Mirza Aslam Beg[a] (born 15 February 1928), also known as M. A. Beg, is a retiredPakistanifour-star rank general who served as the thirdChief of Army Staff of thePakistan Army from 1988 until his retirement in 1991. His appointment as chief of army staff came when his predecessor,PresidentGeneral Zia-ul-Haq,died in an air crash on 17 August 1988.
Beg's tenure witnessedBenazir Bhutto being electedPrime Minister in November 1988, and the restoration ofdemocracy and thecivilian control of the military in the country. Beg financed theIslamic Democracy Alliance (IDA), the conservative and right-wing opposition alliance againstleft-wingPPP, and rigged thegeneral elections in 1990 in favor ofNawaz Sharif.[2] As a result,Nawaz Sharif became Prime Minister in 1990, but fell out with Beg when the latter recommended support forIraq during theGulf War.[3] Beg was denied an extension from PresidentGhulam Ishaq Khan soon after in 1991, and replaced by GeneralAsif Nawaz as chief of army staff.[4] Apart from his military career, Beg briefly tenured as professor ofsecurity studies at theNational Defence University (NDU) and regularly writes columns inThe Nation.[5]
Post-retirement, Beg has been mired in controversies. In 2012,Ijaz-ul-Haq, the son ofGeneral Zia-ul-Haq accused Beg of being responsible in the airplane crash that killed President Zia.[6][7]
In 1996,Asghar Khan filed a human rights petition alleging that former Pakistan Army Chief General Beg andPakistani ISI ChiefAsad Durrani, under PresidentGhulam Ishaq Khan, established an election cell to manipulate the1990 Pakistani general election in favor ofNawaz Sharif by purchasing politicians' loyalties. Nearly 16 years later, Durrani finally admitted his role in a 2012 affidavit to theSupreme Court of Pakistan and stated that he had been ordered by Beg to disburse money to rivals ofBenazir Bhutto's party.[8][9] The ISI disbursed Rs140 million for this purpose using funds from the foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan, through Mehranbank CEO Younus Habib. In 2012, Habib stated that the money had been arranged at the behest ofGhulam Ishaq Khan and General Beg, in his affidavit to theSupreme Court of Pakistan.[10] Despite these revelations, no significant legal consequences have followed and Beg had continued to defy court orders.[11][12][13]
Mirza Aslam Beg was born in the small village, Muslimpatti,[14] inAzamgarh district,Uttar Pradesh inBritish India, to theUrdu speakingMuhajir family that was well known for itsMughal nobility, on 15 February 1928.[15][16]
His father, Mirza Murtaza Beg, was anadvocate and practicing lawyer who had held a well known prestige and respected name in the law circles of theAllahabad High Court.[17] The Baig's family had traced a long ancestral roots of theMughal royal family who once were emperors of India from the early 15th century to the early 18th century.[18]
He was educated at theAzamgarh where he graduated from a local high school and enrolled at theShibli National College, Azamgarh for his undergraduate studies, in 1945.[19] Subsequently, he earnedBachelor of Arts (BA) degree inLiberal Arts from Shibli National College in 1949.[19]
During his college years, Mirza played collegiatefield hockey and was vital member of his hockey team which consisted mainly Muslims.[19] According to his memories, Beg sought revenge on a Hindu politician belonging toCongress Party after the politician had beaten up a member of his hockey team.[19] Egged on by a mob of students, Beg used his hockey stick to beat up the politician at a public meeting.[19] This incident came after his graduation from college in 1949, and Beg's family decided to move toPakistan in 1949 after theIndian partition in 1947.[19]
The Beg family set sailed forKarachi fromBombay viaRoyal Pakistan Navy ship in 1949. His elder brother was already acommissioned officer in thePakistan Army and encouraged young Beg to follow his path to seek a career in the army.[19] Beg recalled his memoirs to his Indian interviewer and called Pakistan as "my dream country".[19] In 1950, Beg was accepted at thePakistan Military Academy (PMA) inKakul, graduating from a class of 6th PMA Long Course in 1952.[20]
In 1952, he gained a commission as2Lt. in the 6Baloch Regiment of thePakistan Army and initially assisted the command of an infantryplatoon.[16] From 1952 to 1958, he progressed well toward the military ranks, having been promoted toarmy lieutenant in 1956; andarmy captain in 1958.[16] He received recommendations from his field commanding officer for the selection by the special branch to join the special forces, and departed to theUnited States in 1958 to complete the special forces training with theU.S. ArmySpecial Forces inFort Bragg,North Carolina.[16]
In 1960, Major Beg returned to Pakistan and joined the eliteArmy Special Service Group (SSG), initially commanding acompany that specialized in military infiltration.[20] Major Beg was deployed inWestern Pakistan, in areas adjacent toAfghanistan, where his first combat experience took place when he led his company in removing theNawab of Dir inChitral inNorth-West Frontier Province.[20] In 1965, Major Beg served well in thesecond war withIndia and led the Special Forces team against theIndian Army.[16]
In 1967, Major Beg was promoted asLieutenant-Colonel, eventually sent to attend theNational Defence University (NDU) to continue his higher education, alongside then-Lieutenant-ColonelZahid Ali Akbar, anengineering officer from theCorps of Engineers.[21]
After attending the Armed Forces War College and graduated withMSc inStrategic studies in 1971,Lt.Col. Beg was stationed inEast-Pakistan to serve as amilitary adviser to theEastern Command led by itsGOC-in-C,Lieutenant-GeneralA.A.K. Niazi.[22] Upon arriving andobserving themilitary deployments and actions, Lt.Col. Beg became very critical ofGen. Niazi's strategy and eventually became involved in acrimonious argument with hisGen. Niazi's staff inDacca, having been very critical of armed forces interference in the political events in East.[22] His open mindedness and arguments with his senior officer eventually led his transfer back to Pakistan and was threatened with facing thecourt martial.[22]
In 1971, he commanded an infantry regiment inthird war with India but was sent back to attend theNational Defence University where he became even more involved with his studies.[22] In 1971–72, he earned hisMSc inWar Studies, defending and publishing his thesis, entitled: "A journey of pain and fear" which provide critical analysis ofstate sponsored terrorism and its effects on geo-military positions of the countries.[23] Lt. Col. Beg left thespecial forces, and accepted the professorship on war studies at the NDU in 1975.[24]Brig. Beg tenured as the professor on thewar studies and remained Chief Instructor of Armed Forces War College at the thenNational Defence University until January 1978.[24]
About the 1971 war, Beg maintained that thePakistan Armed Forces "learned a valuable strategic lesson", and that quoted that the government also learned that "there is no point in going to war unless you are absolutely certain you have the capability to win".[25]
From 1994 to 1999, Beg continued his teaching at NDU and published his two books on national security, nuclear weapons development, defence diplomacy and international relations.[26][27]
In 1978,Brig. Beg left the professorship at the university and was promoted into the two-star command appointment in the army.[28]Major-General Beg was appointed as theGOC of the14th Army Division, stationed at theOkara Military District ofPunjab Province in Pakistan.[28]
In March 1979, chief of army staff, GeneralZia-ul-Haq, directed theIIStrike Corps' "to ascertain the likely reaction of the Pakistan Armed Forces officers if Bhutto was hanged", in accordance to theSupreme Court's verdict.[28] During this meeting, Major-General Beg objected to the hanging of Bhutto and maintained to his senior commanders that: "The hanging of Bhutto would be an unwise act, as it could cause very serious "political aberrations" that will be difficult to correct.[28] In 1979, Major-General Beg was moved atArmy GHQ, taking over the staff appointment as anAdjutant-General, which he served until 1980.[28] He was later elevated as theChief of General Staff (CGS), remained in charge of operational planning of the counter-offensive to theIndian invasion of Siachen marking the beginnings of the ongoingSiachen conflict in 1984.[29]
In 1985, Major-General Beg was elevated to three-star promotion and was appointed as Corp's Commander of theXI Corps, that stationed inPeshawar, which had role in theindirect war with theSoviet Army in Afghanistan, since 1980.[30]
According to the military authors and Pakistani historians' accounts,Lieutenant-General Beg was extremely distrusted byPresidentZia-ul-Haq, mainly due to his open-mindedness and hispro-democracy views, at one point, advising President Zia to "rendezvous with thenation's history and democratize the country."[22]
In 1987,Lieutenant-General Beg was in the race for the promotion of four-star appointment, along with Lieutenant-GeneralZahid Ali Akbar, but was overlooked by President Zia who wanted toLt.Gen. Akbar for the four-star appointment as chief of army staff.[22] Prime MinisterM.K. Junejo eventually used his prerogative to appointLieutenant-General Mirza Aslam Beg asvice-army chief on merit, despite President Zia wanting Lieutenant-GeneralZahid Ali Akbar who was sent toDESTO.: 73 [22]
In March 1987,Prime MinisterMohammad Junejo announced in thenews media of appointingLieutenant-General Beg as aVice Chief of Army Staff, promoting him as thefour-star rank general in the army.: 278 [31]
Though, General Beg did not supersede anyone and was the most senior, the promotion was notable due to the opposition shown byPresidentZia-ul-Haq who wanted Lieutenant-GeneralZahid Ali Akbar, an engineer, as vice army chief.: 278 [31][25]
Despite his four-star command assignment, General Beg had to report his duties and decisions toPresident Zia who had been army chief since 1976.[32] Eventually, General Beg succeeded President Zia as the new army chief and the command of the army when the latterdied in an accidental plane crash on 17 August 1988.[33] American military authors regarded Beg as "mild but bookish general" keen to drive the country towards the tracks of democracy.[34]
TheUnited States military regarded Beg as an "Unpredictable General"[33] could not be counted on to continue closemilitary cooperation with the United States as Zia did in the 1980s.[33] The Pentagon had commented on Beg as "a professional soldier" with no political ambitions, but independent-minded and unpredictable.[33] In 1988, onePentagon military official added that "Beg is hard to figure out and difficult to read his mindset unlike other Pakistan army generals, he hasn't been particularly friendly with theUS."[33]
Against the popular perception to take over, Beg endorsedGhulam Ishaq Khan as president and ultimately called for newgeneral elections which resulted in a peaceful democratic transfer of government to thePakistan Peoples Party (PPP) withBenazir Bhutto as thePrime minister.[35][36] Beg did not consult any of his corps commanders or principal staff officers (PSOs) and called on theChief of Naval Staff, AdmiralIftikhar Sirohey, andChief of Air Staff Air Chief MarshalHakimullah, to discuss the matter briefly and within three hours of General Zia-ul-Haq's death, restored theConstitution and handed over power toGhulam Ishaq Khan.[37] It was an unprecedented decision in favour of democracy and the rule of law.[37]
Mirza Aslam Beg was endorsed byPrime MinisterBenazir Bhutto who confirmed his four-star appointment as chief of army staff until 1991, when he was replaced by GeneralAsif Nawaz.[36] Unlike General Zia, Beg initiated a massive re-evaluation and education training program for theinter-services officers.[38] In 1988, Beg's personal initiatives led to sending of hundreds ofinter-services officers to Western universities for advanced degrees.[38] By 1991, several of theinter-services officers had gainedpost-graduate degree in operational and technical training.[38]
In 1988,Prime MinisterBenazir Bhutto conferred Beg with a specially designated civil award for Mirza Aslam Beg for restoring democracy in Pakistan,Tamgha-e-Jamhuriat (lit. Medal of Democracy).[39] In fact, Beg is the only one in Pakistan, and yet the only four-star army general to have been decorated with such an honour.[39] Although Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was criticized for decorating a four-star general with a civilian award, she used to justify her decision, saying that Beg deserved this honour because he refrained from indulging in yet another military adventure like Zia and instead helped Pakistan to apeaceful transition of power through general elections.[39]
On 16 August 1991, General Beg retired from his military serving, completing 41 years of service, and handing over command to GeneralAsif Nawaz.[4] As anarmy chief, General Beg is credited by anAustralian Army expert for encouraging "wider thinking about tactics" within thePakistan Army, particularly for establishing a much improved logistics chain and "contributed immensely to the army's warfighting capabilities".[4]
As chief of army staff, Beg determinately retained the military's control over the policies regarding thenational security of Pakistan, and dictated Prime MinisterBenazir Bhutto's role in formulating the national security policies.[34] Beg testified that the "real causes behind the 'Pressler amendment' was significant as long as Pakistan was considered an important entity of weakeningSoviet Union's influence inSouth Asia".[40] Various writers greatly questioned his idea of "strategic depth", which aim to transfer of Pakistan's military science command in dense Afghanistan, against the war with India.[41]
Beg endorsed the role of his deputy,Lieutenant-GeneralHamid Gul in Afghanistan war who masterminded theJalalabad operation which failed brutally; Gul was deposed by Prime Minister Bhutto soon after this action.[42] Beg's role remained vital during and after the Soviet Union'stroop withdrawal from Afghanistan and showed no intention to coordinate joint efforts with the U.S. to end the war in the country.[43] In late 1989, Pakistan and U.S. propagated the message of departing of communist government in order to bring the clerical government instead.[43] Authors and media reporters maintained that Beg controversially proposed an intelligence contingency plan between the agencies ofAfghanistan,Pakistan andIran that would grow into the "core of the Muslim world".[43] Such idea was met with hostility in thegovernment andForeign MinisterYacob Khan and Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto were the ones who objected and opposed to this idea.[43]
In 1989, Beg drafted a contingency plan and organized a massivemilitary exercise,Exercise Zarb-e-Momin, to prove the military solidarity contentions. One of the notable events as a stint as a chief of army staff during the end ofCold War took place in 1990, when IraqinvadedKuwait amidst political tensions between two Arab countries. Beg fully endorsed theUnited States-ledmilitary campaign againstIraq. In a briefing given toPrime MinisterBenazir Bhutto andPresidentGhulam Ishaq Khan, Beg maintained the assessment that once the ground battle with theIraqi Army was joined, the Iraqi Army would comprehensively defeat and repel theAmerican Army.[44]
Ironically, Beg accused the Western countries for encouraging Iraq to invade Kuwait, though he kept his armed forces fighting against Iraq in support toSaudi Arabia.[45][46] In 1990, he held state dinner forUnited States Central Command (SCENTCOM) commander GeneralNorman Schwarzkopf where, together withChairman Joint Chiefs AdmiralIftikhar Sirohey, brief the USCENTCOM onPakistan Armed Forces battle preparations and military operational capabilities of Pakistan armed forces in Saudi contingent.[47]
The Iraq war with Kuwait was a polarizing political issue in Pakistan and Beg carefully commanded and deployed the Pakistan Armed Forces' contingent forces duringOperation Desert Storm in 1991.[46][48] Beg calculated that the popular opinion would be in favor of Iraq, as the anti-American sentiment in the Middle East began to grow at that time.[44]
But neither did Beg's strategic prediction come true nor did he get an extension.[44] Soon after the end of Gulf war, Beg proceeded towards his retirement on 18 August 1991.[44]
After failing to persuade the government for his extension, Beg's later political ambitions forced then-presidentGhulam Ishaq Khan to nominate GeneralAsif Nawaz as the designated chief of army staff three months prior to his retirement.[2] After Beg's retirement he continued the professorship atNational Defence University in Islamabad, and remained active in country's political and military affairs.[49]
Soon after retiring from his military service in 1991, Beg earned the public criticism when thePakistan Peoples Party's politicians went on aired on severalnews channels of being charged on personally authorizing the intelligence fundsto be released to theconservative politicians.[2] A lawsuit was filed byAsghar Khan at theSupreme Court of Pakistan against him, the formerDirector ISIAsad Durrani, andYounis Habib, theaccountant with theMinistry of Defence in 1992, and official court inquiries began when the local Pakistani newspaper, alleging that the conservatives had received as much as ₨. 140 million to win over the "for-sale" leftists politicians.[2]
In 1994, the official government investigations pursued further whenInterior ministerNaseerullah Babar inBenazir administration disclosed this matter at theParliament while maintaining that "it was theISI that had disbursed funds to purchase the loyalty of conservative mass and nationalist public figures to manipulate thegeneral elections held in 1990 and to bring the conservatives in race to compete with left-wing politicians in the country."[2] It was reported that Gen. Beg had theYounis Habib released and deposited around ₨. 140 million in the Survey Section 202 account ofMilitary Intelligence (MI), with ₨. 6 million were channeled to accounts ofPresidentGhulam Ishaq Khan including the bureaucracts: Syed Refaqat Hussain,Roedad Khan, andIjlal Zaidi.[50] In 2017, thesecond lawsuit filed against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has connected him whenJust.Gulzar, in his final verdict, reads:
[Late]Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the then-President of Pakistan, General Aslam Beg and General Asad Durrani acted in violation of theConstitution by facilitating a group of politicians and political parties, etc., to ensure their success against the rival candidates in the general election of 1990, for which they secured funds from Mr. Yunus Habib. Their acts have brought a bad name to Pakistan and professionality of the Armed Forces as well as intelligence agencies in the eyes of the nation, therefore, notwithstanding that they may have retired from service, the [Federal] Government shall take necessary steps under the Constitution and Law against them.[51]
Internationally, Beg was widely criticised for his alleged involvement with thenuclear program of Iran. A report inThe Friday Times contends that after taking over as Chief of Army Staff, General Aslam Beg began lobbying about "such cooperation with Iran" on nuclear technology as a part of his "strategy of defiance" of theUnited States. As chief of army staff, Beg had initiated lectureship programs on physics, chemistry, mathematics and engineering forinter-services officers, by the Pakistani scientists serving their professors, to have better understanding on nuclear policy matters and policy development.[38]
Earlier, Beg had calculated that such cooperation withIran was popular and that,Saudi Arabia and thePersian Gulf Arabs were less popular as American clients in the region.[52] General Beg had encouraged dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan to proliferate technology to Iran and North Korea.[52]
The speed with which he maintained the "new nuclear policy" leads one to speculate whether he simply wanted the "obstacle" of General Zia to disappear from the scene.[52] General Zia did not know or received any payments of such agreement; in fact, Zia did not know if Beg was in act with Iran.[52] Zia was deeply committed to the Arabs, especially toSaudi Arabia, to create a restraint to contain the Iranian influence.[52] According to Ahmad,Prime ministerNawaz Sharif was shocked that Beg had signed a secret nuclear deal with Iran without telling him; therefore, the Prime minister abrogated the cooperation and tightened the security watch on A.Q. Khan.[52] However, in 2004 interview toPBS, Beg clearly denied of his involvement with Iranian program and quoted:
If [Benazir] government wasn't aware, how was I aware? I was army chief from 1988 to 1991. If we were never told what was happening beneath the surface when the Americans knew, when the British agencies knew, when they have claimed they have penetrated the entire system including Pakistan— so are they not guilty?
— Mirza Aslam Beg, 2004, source[53]
In 2005 interview toNBC, Beg defended his and A.Q. Khan's ground and maintained to the NBC that "Nuclear Proliferators can't be stopped." Beg added that theAmericans andEuropeans have been engaged innuclear proliferation as part of a concept, called "outsourcing nuclear capability", to friendly countries as a measure of defense againstnuclear strike.[54] Beg pointed out that the "nuclear non-proliferation regime, therefore, is dying its natural death at the hands of those who are the exponents of the nuclear non-proliferation regime".[54] Beg also theorized that "nuclear deterrent is what holds the strategic balance between the two or more belligerents".[54]
According to an article in theExpress Tribune, Beg was in contact with senior scientist, Dr.Abdul Qadeer Khan, about bringingIran into the fold of "nuclear prowess" much to the annoyance of his superior and senior officer, GeneralMuhammad Zia-ul-Haq.[52] At this point, without a green signal from President Zia-ul-Haq, Beg got acquainted with Dr. A.Q. Khan to secretly proliferate the technology crucial to master the nuclear fuel.[55]
On 1 December 2012, President Zia's sonIjaz-ul-Haq maintained that it was Beg who was conspired behind thedeath ofhis father.[52] Earlier in 1988, the Shafiur Rehman Commission that was to establish the cause of the crash ofMuhammad Zia-ul-Haq's plane concluded that because of Army's obstruction in the investigation, the real perpetrators behind the attack cannot be brought forward.[56]
Upon returning to civilian life, General Beg founded and established a policythink-tank institute in Islamabad, known as Foundation for Research on International Environment National Development and Security (Friends).[57] He is the current founding chairman of the Friends think-tank since its foundations.[57]
Beg later founded the nationalist political party, the Awami Qaiyadat Party (lit. National Leadership Party) which continued to be a part of right-wing sphere.[58] Though his party gained no political prominence and failed to compete in national general elections, his party remains registered in theElection Commission withGun as its election symbol.[58]
General Beg was one of many professor under whom Musharraf had studied atNational Defence University.[16] Musharraf had high regards for Beg as one of his "significant professor" in his university years, but after11 September 2001 they became estranged.[16] Beg was labelled as one of many professors at NDU who were called "pseudo-intellectuals" by Musharraf.[16][59]
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| Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military) (Order of Excellence) | Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) (Crescent of Excellence) | Sitara-e-Basalat (Star of Valour) | Tamgha-e-Diffa (Defence Medal) |
| Sitara-e-Harb 1965 War (War Star 1965) | Sitara-e-Harb 1971 War (War Star 1971) | Tamgha-e-Jang 1965 War (War Medal 1965) | Tamgha-e-Jang 1971 War (War Medal 1971) |
| 10 Years Service Medal | 20 Years Service Medal | 30 Years Service Medal | 40 Years Service Medal |
| Tamgha-e-Sad Saala Jashan-e-e-Quaid-e-Azam (100th Birth Anniversary ofMuhammad Ali Jinnah) 1976 | Tamgha-e-Qayam-e-Jamhuria (Republic Commemoration Medal) 1956 | Hijri Tamgha (Hijri Medal) 1979 | Jamhuriat Tamgha (Democracy Medal) 1988 |
| Qarardad-e-Pakistan Tamgha (Resolution Day Golden Jubilee Medal) 1990 | Tong il | The Legion of Merit | Order of King Abdul Aziz |
| Foreign Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
 South Korea | Tong ilOrder of National Security Merit | |
 USA | The Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) | |
 Saudi Arabia | Order of King Abdul Aziz - Class I | |
soviet war and Mirza Aslam Beg.
soviet war and Mirza Aslam Beg.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sirdar Farooq Shaukat Khan Lodi | Chief of General Staff 1980–1985 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice Chief of Army Staff 1987–1988 | Succeeded by post abolished |
| Preceded by | Chief of Army Staff 1988–1991 | Succeeded by |
Chiefs of the Staff of thePakistan Army | ||
|---|---|---|
| Commander-in-Chief (1947-1972) |  | |
| Chiefs of Army Staff (1972-present) | ||
| Vice Chief of Army Staff | ||
| Related | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
