Rahimuddin Khan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 7th Governor of Balochistan | |
| In office 18 September 1978 – 22 March 1984 | |
| Preceded by | Khuda Bakhsh Marri |
| Succeeded by | Farooq Shaukat Lodhi |
| 16th Governor of Sindh | |
| In office 24 June 1988 – 11 September 1988 | |
| Chief Minister | Akhtar Ali Kazi |
| Preceded by | Ashraf Wali Tabani |
| Succeeded by | Qadeeruddin Ahmed |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1926-07-21)21 July 1926 |
| Died | 22 August 2022(2022-08-22) (aged 96) |
| Spouse | Saqiba Rahimuddin |
| Relations |
|
| Alma mater | |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  Pakistan Army |
| Years of service | 1947–1987 |
| Rank |  General |
| Unit | Baloch Regiment |
| Commands | |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | |
Rahimuddin Khan[a] (21 July 1926 – 22 August 2022) was a Pakistanifour-star general who served as the fourthChairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of thePakistan Army from 1984 to 1987. He also served as the seventhGovernor of Balochistan, from 1978 to 1984, and briefly as the 16thGovernor of Sindh in 1988.[1][2]
After thePartition of British India, Rahimuddin enrolled as the first cadet of thePakistan Military Academy. As a captain, he was part of military action during the1953 Lahore riots. He later commanded111 Brigade inRawalpindi andII Corps inMultan. As Chairman Joint Chiefs, he rejected the futuremilitary plan for theKargil Conflict.[3]
As the longest-serving governor of Balochistan, Rahimuddin declared a general amnesty and ended allmilitary operations in the province.[4] His tenure saw widespreaddevelopment, including the opening ofSui gas fields toQuetta,[5] the construction ofnuclear test sites inChaghai, and the halting of theBaloch insurgency.[6][7] He was credited with financial honesty,[8] but controversially suppressedmujahideen entering the province during theSoviet war in Afghanistan.
Rahimuddin refused an extension of service as chairman joint chiefs, retiring in 1987.
Rahimuddin Khan was born on 21 July 1926,[8] inKaimganj,United Provinces,British India, to aMuslimPathanAfridi family, with roots inKohat andTirah.[9] He was the nephew of educationistZakir Husain, later thePresident of India, and the son-in-law of Husain's brother, aPakistan Movement figure and member of the firstConstituent AssemblyMahmud Husain.[10]
He attendedJamia Millia Islamia University inDelhi.
He opted for Pakistan duringindependence in 1947, enrolling as Gentleman Cadet-1 of thePakistan Military Academy.[11]
As a captain, Rahimuddin was part of the military operation underAzam Khan during the1953 Lahore riots. He attendedCommand and General Staff College atFort Leavenworth, Kansas, andCommand and Staff College inQuetta in 1965, and was posted toHyderabad in 1969. He served as inaugural commander of111 Brigade inRawalpindi in 1970. Rahimuddin served as Chief Instructor at the Armed Forces War College at the thenNational Defence College,Rawalpindi, until 1975.
Prime MinisterZulfikar Ali Bhutto requested Rahimuddin to head the newAtomic Energy Commission andnuclear programme, but was declined.[12][13] As lieutenant-general, he becameCommander II Corps inMultan[14] in 1976. He was madeChairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee by GeneralZia-ul-Haq on 22 March 1984, a position he served in till 29 March 1987.[15]
As Chairman Joint Chiefs, Rahimuddin was asked to approve themilitary plan for an offensive inKargil,Kashmir, in 1986.[3] The plan was authored by CommanderI Corps. Both Rahimuddin and Air Chief MarshalJamal A. Khan rejected it as untenable, citing the harsh conditions, strategy, and concurrent conflict with theSoviet Union in Afghanistan.[3] The plan was later approved by GeneralPervez Musharraf, leading to theKargil war in 1998.[16]
Rahimuddin declined an extension of service at superannuation, and retired in 1987. After his retirement on time, Prime MinisterMuhammad Khan Junejo rejected Zia's proposal of extension for Vice Chief of Staff GeneralKM Arif, embarrassing Zia.[17] Arif was replaced byMirza Aslam Beg as Vice Chief.
Amilitary operation against separatists was commenced in Balochistan by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto led by army chiefTikka Khan in 1973, claiming thousands of lives.[18] Rahimuddin was appointedGovernor of Balochistan on 16 September 1978. He declared an end to the operation, and announced ageneral amnesty for fighters willing to give up arms.Army withdrawal was completed by 1979. The Balochseparatist movement came to a standstill.[19][20] Under Rahimuddin, theForeign Policy Centre held that "the province's tribal sardars were taken out of the pale of politics for the first time."[21] He was known for a clean reputation during corrupt regimes.[22]
Rahimuddin opened theSui gas field to provide gas directly toQuetta and other Baloch towns for the first time. Electricity expansion from Quetta toLoralai converted vast areas with sub-soil water into fertile ones.[23] He alsoconsolidated the then-contentious integration ofGwadar into Balochistan, notified as a district in 1977. Despite opposition from finance ministerGhulam Ishaq Khan, Rahimuddin heavily promoted large-scale manufacturing and investment in infrastructure, leading to provincialGDP growth rising to the highest inBalochistan's history.[24] Addressing theprovince's literacy rate, the lowest in the country, he administered the freeing up of resources towards education, created girls'incentive programs, and had several girls' schools built inDera Bugti District.[25] He also oversaw the construction ofnuclear test sites inChaghai wheretests were conducted in 1998.[8]
In March 1981, the militant groupAl-Zulfikar, led byMurtaza Bhutto, hijacked aPakistan International Airlines airplane fromKarachi toKabul,[26] and shot and killed passenger Captain Tariq Rahim, mistakenly believing him to be the son of General Rahimuddin Khan.[27][28] The decision to kill Rahim was taken after Murtaza Bhutto consultedKHAD chiefMohammad Najibullah.[29][30]
Zia dismissed his own government in May 1988. Khan became civilianGovernor of Sindh, andgovernor's rule was imposed after citing emergency.[31] Claiming corruption, Khan began dismissing large numbers of police and civil servants.[32][33] Khan also launched a brutal police crackdown onland mafia, one of the widest ever inKarachi, criticized by bothPPP and theZia regime for its heavy-handed tactics. It was stopped by the government immediately after he resigned. He moved to create separate police forces for the city and the rural areas, but this was also resisted after his resignation for fears of complicating theSindhi-Muhajir relationship.[34] Specialriot control officers were trained to cope with ethnic riots, and river and forest police were also set up to battledacoity.[35]Ghulam Ishaq Khan became acting President afterZia's death in an aircrash on 17 August, and reintroduced theChief Minister of Sindh office. Khan resigned in response to the attempt to limit his gubernatorial powers.[36]
Post-retirement, he promoted his former chief of staffAsif Nawaz for appointment asChief of Army Staff.[37]
Rahimuddin died on 22 August 2022, inLahore, Pakistan, at the age of 96.[8] H
The cadets who left for Pakistan formed the First Course of the PMA. Gentleman Cadet No. 391 at the IMA, who became Cadet No. 1 at the PMA, and also honer of P.A(Pakistan Army) No 1, Rahim Uddin Khan, rose to the rank of General and became Joint Chief of Staff in Pakistan and, later, Governor of one of the provinces.
Lieutenant-General Rahimuddin Khan kept the governor's post in addition to commanding 2 Corps virtually in absentia. Its headquarters was located in the distant city of Multan.
Mr Bhutto didn't wait long and ordered the army to move into the interior of Balochistan and then dismissed the Governments both in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan ... thousands of people were killed in those army operations, which continued for 5 years. Thousands were rendered homeless...
Balochistan is home to the largest number of school buildings that are falling apart. It also has the fewest educational institutions, the lowest literacy rate among both males and females.
The Bishop persisted. In July 1988, he asked Governor Rahimuddin for the plot, categorically stating that he did not intend to construct a building thereon but would use it as an open playground. The authorities held their ground.
Khan's presidency also saw the resignation of General Rahimuddin Khan from the post of Governor of Sindh, due to differences between the two after Khan started restricting Rahimuddin's vast amount of legislative power.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Governor of Balochistan 1978–1984 | Succeeded by F. S. Lodhi |
| Preceded by | Governor of Sindh 1988 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee 1984–1987 | Succeeded by |
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