Tikka Khan | |
|---|---|
| ٹِکّا خاں | |
 | |
| 1stChief of Army Staff | |
| In office 3 March 1972 – 1 March 1976 | |
| President | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry |
| Prime Minister | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto |
| Preceded by | Gul Hassan (asC-in-C of the Army) |
| Succeeded by | Zia-ul-Haq |
| National Security Advisor | |
| In office 1 March 1976 – 4 July 1977 | |
| President | Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry |
| Prime Minister | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto |
| Preceded by | Ghulam Omar |
| Succeeded by | Rao Farman Ali |
| 13thGovernor of East Pakistan | |
| In office 25 March 1971 – 31 August 1971 | |
| President | Yahya Khan |
| Preceded by | Lt-Gen.Yaqub Ali Khan |
| Succeeded by | Abdul Motaleb Malik |
| 3rdCommander of Eastern Command | |
| In office 25 March 1971 – 10 April 1971 | |
| President | Yahya Khan |
| Preceded by | Yaqub Ali Khan |
| Succeeded by | A.A.K. Niazi |
| 23rdGovernor of Punjab | |
| In office 9 December 1988 – 6 August 1990 | |
| President | Ghulam Ishaq Khan |
| Prime Minister | Benazir Bhutto |
| Preceded by | S.J. Qureshi |
| Succeeded by | Muhammad Azhar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1915-02-10)10 February 1915[1] Kahuta,Punjab,British India |
| Died | 28 March 2002(2002-03-28) (aged 87) Rawalpindi,Punjab, Pakistan |
| Resting place | Westridge cemetery |
| Citizenship | British India (1915–1947) Pakistan (1947–2002) |
| Political party | Pakistan Peoples Party |
| Children | 5 |
| Alma mater | Indian Military Academy |
| Civilian awards | List |
| Nickname | Butcher of Bengal[2] |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  British India (1935–1947) Pakistan (1947–1976) |
| Branch/service |  British Indian Army Pakistan Army |
| Years of service | 1935–1976 |
| Rank |   General |
| Unit | Regiment Artillery |
| Commands | Eastern Command IV Corps II Corps 8th Infantry Division,Rann of Kutch 15th Infantry Division,Sialkot |
| Battles/wars | |
| Military awards | List |
| Service number | PA – 124 |
Tikka Khan (Urdu:ٹِکّا خاں; 10 February 1915 – 28 March 2002) was a Pakistani military officer and war criminal who served as the firstchief of the army staff from 1972 to 1976.[3][2] Along withYahya Khan andHamid Khan, he is considered a chief architect of the1971 Bangladesh genocide that resulted in the deaths of, depending on which authority is consulted, between three hundred thousand and three million people.[4][5][6]
Gaining acommission in 1940 as an artillery officer in theBritish Indian Army to participate inWorld War II, he rose to command the 8th and 15thinfantrydivisions in thewar with India in 1965. In 1969, he was appointed as the commander ofIV Corps while acting asmartial law administrator inWest Pakistan under President Yahya Khan. In 1971, he took over the command of army'sEastern Command inEast Pakistan and appointed asGovernor of East Pakistan where he oversaw the planning and the military deployments to execute themilitary operations to quell theliberation war efforts by theAwami League.[7]
After commanding theII Corps in thewar with India in 1971, Tikka Khan was promoted to four-star rank and appointed as the first chief of army staff of the Pakistan Army in 1972. As an army chief, Tikka Khan provided support to thePakistan nuclear programme alongsidebureaucratGhulam Ishaq Khan.[8] Upon retirement from themilitary in 1976, he was subsequently appointed asNational Security Advisor by Prime MinisterZulfikar Ali Bhutto, only to be removed in 1977 as a result of enforcedmartial law. In the 1980s, he remained active as a political worker of thePakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and emerged as its leader when appointed asGovernor ofPunjab after thegeneral elections held in 1988. His tenure ended when President Ghulam Ishaq Khandismissed Prime MinisterBenazir Bhutto's government in 1990 and he was succeeded byMian Muhammad Azhar. He retired frompolitics in 1990. He died on 28 March 2002 and was buried with fullmilitary honours inWestridge cemetery inRawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan.[9]
Tikka Khan was born on 10 February 1915[1] into aPunjabi family of theJanjuaRajput clan[10] in the Jochha Mamdot village ofKahuta Tehsil,Rawalpindi District,Punjab,British India (nowPunjab, Pakistan).[11]
After his education in Rawalpindi, he joined theArmy Cadet College inNowgong, Madhya Pradesh in 1933 and joined theBritish Indian Army as asepoy in 1935; he gained his commission in the army from theIndian Military Academy on 22 December 1940.[12]
During these early years, he was known to be a particularly good boxer.[13]
He participated inWorld War II and fought with the2nd Field Regiment,Regiment of Artillery in Libya against theAfrika Korps led by German Field MarshalErwin Rommel in 1940.[12] He was captured by German troops and held as aPOW in Libya for more than a year.[12] After successfully escaping, he saw military action in theBurma campaign againstJapan in 1945 where he was wounded and hospitalised for some time.[12] In 1946, he was posted in different parts of India such asDeolali,Mathura, andKalyan.[12]
During the same time, he served as an instructor at the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun.[12]
After theefforts of Muslim League culminated in thepartition of British India and the creation of Pakistan, Tikka Khan joined thePakistan Army as a major in the Pakistan Army'sRegiment of Artillery in 1947.[12] His military career progressed well and he got accelerated promotions in the army.[12] In 1949, he was promoted tolieutenant colonel. He worked hard to raise the Medium Regiment in the new army.[12] In 1950–54, he was promoted tocolonel and became the deputy director at the directorate of artillery in theGHQ.[12]
In 1955, he was promoted tobrigadier.[12] In 1962, he was promoted tomajor general and posted at the GHQ in Rawalpindi.[12]
In 1965, Major-General Tikka Khan was theGOC of the 8th Infantry Division that was positioned in Punjab, Pakistan.[14] At that time, the 8th Infantry Division consisted of the 51stParatrooperBrigade and the 52nd Infantry Brigade.[14] In April 1965, the 8th Infantry Division intruded into theRann of Kutch.[15] Hostilities broke out between India and Pakistan and Tikka Khan's 8th Division fought theIndian Army in theBattle of Rann of Kutch.[16][17] During the war, Tikka Khan earned a reputation as a victor of Rann of Kutch and was credited widely by thePakistani press for the victories, he gained over the Indian Army.[12] He made a bold stand against the Indian Army's encirclement in the Sialkot sector in 1965.[12] He later led the 15th Infantry Division in theIndo-Pakistani war of 1965.[12]
After PresidentAyub Khan handed over thepresidency to his army chief GeneralYahya Khan in 1969, Tikka Khan was promoted tolieutenant general to command theIV Corps, stationed inLahore.[12] He was themartial law administrator of Punjab under President Yahya Khan who appointed him after replacing withAttiqur Rahman.[12] His personality was well known in Pakistan as being tough and ruthless.[12] In March 1971, Tikka Khan was sent toDacca and left the post to Lieutenant General Bahadur Sher in March 1971.[12]
The situation was very complex in bothWest andEast Pakistan after thegeneral elections held in 1970 where theBengali nationalistAwami League won 160 of the 162 seats in East Pakistan, whereas theleftist-socialistPakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won 81 seats out of 138 in West Pakistan.[18] By constitutional law,Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of the Awami League was supposed to be the candidate for the post ofPrime Minister of Pakistan butZulfikar Ali Bhutto of the Pakistan Peoples Party was not ready to accept his role asLeader of the Opposition and refused to sit in theNational Assembly in this role.[18]
Under pressure by Bhutto and the Pakistan Peoples Party, President Yahya Khan postponed the National Assembly session despite meeting with and inviting the Awami League to form the government on 7 March.[18] Sheikh Mujibur Rahman reacted by calling upon theBengali people to launch anarmed liberation movement against Pakistan at a mass rally.[18] Responding to this, President Yahya Khan accepted the resignation of Lieutenant GeneralYaqub Khan as governor of East Pakistan and commander of the army'sEastern Command in March 1971 and appointed Lieutenant General Tikka Khan as his successor. Tikka Khan arrived in Dacca the same month and took over the governorship. He assumed command of the Eastern Command on 7 March 1971. He has faced accusations of killing thousands of civilians.[18][user-generated source][19][20]
Acting on the instructions of President Yahya Khan's administration, Lieutenant General Tikka Khan began preparations of "direct-wise military operation" against the Awami League on the evening of 25 March 1971.[21] Tikka Khan's order to his soldiers wasI want the land and not the people.[22] Tikka Khan took assistance from loyal Bengalis andBiharis for the operation and organized a paramilitary force calledRazakars.[citation needed] He ordered the arrest of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, outlawed the Awami League, and ordered a midnightattack on the University of Dhaka.[23] Tikka Khan was the architect and top planner ofOperation Searchlight.[7] Thousands were killed in this operation, including academics and other members of civil society, and the country was plunged into a bloody civil war.[23]Fatima Bhutto called him "a soldier known for his eager use of force".[23] He became notorious as the "Butcher of Bengal."[24][25]
In West Pakistan, domestic criticism and disapproval of Lieutenant General Tikka Khan grew to the point that President Yahya Khan replaced him with a civiliangovernment led by a governor and a cabinet drawn from different political parties.[26] Tikka Khan was recalled to Pakistan, relinquishing the Eastern Command to Lieutenant GeneralAmir Khan Niazi,[27] and given command of theII Corps based inMultan, Punjab.[28] He commanded the II Corps during the1971 war with India.[28] Indian Major General D. K. Palit has questioned the wisdom of Tikka Khan's tactics used in theBattle of Chhamb in December, citing high II Corps casualties incurred during Pakistani frontal attacks.[28]
In 1972, President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto removed Lieutenant GeneralGul Hassan Khan from his position as commander-in-chief of the army[29] and replaced him with Tikka Khan.[30] Tikka Khan was a highly unpopular choice inmilitary circles for the chief of army staff because it was felt strongly that he was professionally unprepared for the assignment. |quote=General Tikka Khan was an unpopular choice as army chief, not so much because of his role in East Pakistan--the army of the day being too thick-skinned for any such delicate consideration, but because it was felt that he did not have a clue about his new job.[31] On the other hand, Tikka Khan was steadfastly loyal to Bhutto.[29] In 1972, he supported themilitarisation of thePakistan Atomic Energy Commission by supportingMunir Ahmad Khan to take over the commission's chairmanship and the directorship of the clandestineatomic bomb programme.[32] He was implicated in theHamoodur Rahman Commission's[citation needed] report on the 1971 war with India over East Pakistan, but much of the report remainsclassified.
In 1974, Tikka Khan led thecounterinsurgency military operation inBalochistan and successfully crushedBaloch independence movement.[33] In 1976, he provided his support toGhulam Ishaq Khan and Bhutto to expand the clandestine nuclear weapons programme.[8] The same year, Tikka Khan was preparing to retire from the military, and evaluated the eight serving lieutenant generals who were his potential successors as chief of army staff. When asked by Bhutto for his opinion on Lieutenant GeneralMuhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Tikka Khan did not recommend him. Tikka Khan later remarked, "I thought he was dull. In any case, he was the most junior of all the eight lieutenant generals."[34] However Bhutto by-passed his recommendations, approved Lieutenant General Zia-ul-Haq to four-star rank, and appointed him as army chief.[34] Upon retirement from the army, Khan joined the Pakistan Peoples Party.
Tikka Khan was appointedNational Security Advisor in 1976 by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.[35] However, his tenure was short and ended whenmartial law was imposed by army chief General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1977. General Zia ordered themilitary police to arrest both Bhutto and General Tikka Khan and placed them under house arrest.[36] Bhutto was executed in 1979, after which General Tikka Khan emerged as one of the leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), becoming itssecretary general.[37]
In 1980–88, Tikka Khan faced imprisonment numerous times for his political activities until President Zia-ul-Haqdied in August 1988 in an aircraft explosion overBahawalpur.[citation needed] In spite of Tikka's leadership position within the political opposition, many of his army protégés such asSawar Khan,Iqbal Khan andRahimuddin Khan were promoted to four-star rank and remained on deferential terms with him.[citation needed] In the1988 general election, Tikka Khan ran unsuccessfully for a seat representingRawalpindi.[37]
He was appointed as theGovernor of Punjab by Prime MinisterBenazir Bhutto in December 1988.[37] His governorship ended when President Ghulam Ishaq Khandismissed the government of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in August 1990, after which Tikka Khan retired from active politics.[37]
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Throughout the 1990s, he battled with illness and was hospitalised inCMH Rawalpindi for several years. He refused many television interviews on the subject of thecontroversial events of 1971 and died on 28 March 2002.[38] He was survived by three sons and two daughters.[39]
He was laid to rest withmilitary honours in theWestridge cemetery in Rawalpindi.[39]Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff CommitteeAziz Khan attended his funeral, accompanied by theArmy Chief of Staff,Chief of Air Staff,Chief of Naval Staff and other senior military and civil officials.[39] Former prime minister and PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto paid Tikka Khan tribute in a message to his son Colonel Khalid Masud; she described the Colonel's father as one who "rose to the highest offices of this country due to his hard work and respect for the rule of law".[39]
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| Hilal-e-Jurat (Crescent of Courage) | Hilal-e-Quaid-e-Azam (HQA) | ||
| Sitara-e-Pakistan (Star of Pakistan) (SPk) | Tamgha-e-Diffa (General Service Medal) 1.Rann of Kutch Clasp | 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) | Pakistan Tamgha 1947 | Tamgha-e-Jamhuria (Republic Commemoration Medal) 1956 |
| Order of the Crown | 1939-1945 Star | Africa Star | Burma Star |
| Italy Star | War Medal | India Service Medal | Queen Elizabeth II (1953) |
Khan's tactics won him the nickname "Butcher of Bengal" among Bengalis before he was removed from his command a few months later.
The Pakistani government (the Yahya regime) was primarily responsible for the genocide. Not only did it prevent the Awami League and Rahman from forming the federal government, but it opted for a military solution to a constitutional crisis. In doing so, it decided to unleash a brutal military operation in order to terrorize the Bengalis. Yahya's decision to put General Tikka Khan (who had earned the name of "Butcher of Baluchistan" for his earlier brutal suppression of Baluchi nationals in the 1960s) in charge of the military operation in Bangladesh was an overt signal of the regime's intention to launch a genocide.
Nobody knows exactly how many people were killed, but certainly a huge number of people lost their lives. Independent researchers think that between 300,000 and 500,000 died. The Bangladesh government puts the figure at three million.
Word spread within the army that Yaqub had lost his nerve. This was further strengthened by the choice of Lt. Gen. Tikka Khan as Yaqub's replacement. Tikka, a Janjua Rajput from a village near Kahuta in Rawalpindi district, was seen as a commander who followed orders to the letter.
In 1976, he joined the Pakistan People's Party and became Special Assistant on National Security to the then Prime Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Martial Law Administrator of Zone A, (West Pakistan) 1969–1971 | Succeeded by |
| Governor ofWest Pakistan 1969 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Martial Law Administrator of Zone B, (East Pakistan) 1971 | Succeeded by |
| Governor ofEast Pakistan 1971 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Governor of Punjab 1988–1990 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | Commander ofEastern Command 7 March 1971 – 7 April 1971 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded byasCommander-in-Chief, Pakistan Army | Chief of Army Staff 1972–1976 | 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 | ||
| Governors |  | |
|---|---|---|
