Syed Mohammad Ahsan | |
|---|---|
 Vice Admiral S.M. Ahsan (1920–1989) | |
| 11thMilitary Governor of East Pakistan | |
| In office 1 September 1969 – 1 March 1971 | |
| President | Yahya Khan |
| Prime Minister | Nurul Amin (1970–71) |
| Preceded by | Sahabzada Yaqub Khan |
| Succeeded by | Sahabzada Yaqub Khan |
| 8thMinister of Finance | |
| In office 5 April 1969 – 3 August 1969 | |
| Preceded by | N M Uqaili |
| Succeeded by | M.A. Qizilbash |
| Navy Commander in Chief | |
| In office 20 October 1966 – 31 August 1969 | |
| President | Ayub Khan |
| Preceded by | V.AdmA.R. Khan |
| Succeeded by | V.AdmMuzaffar Hassan |
| Chairman of theNational Shipping Corporation | |
| In office 1975–1976 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Syed Mohammad Ahsan December 1920[1] |
| Died | August 1989 (aged 68) Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan |
| Resting place | Military Graveyard |
| Citizenship | British India (1921–1947) Pakistan (1947–1989) |
| Party | Independent |
| Alma mater | Osmania University (BA) |
| Civilian awards |  Hilal-i-Quaid-e-Azam Sitara-e-Pakistan |
| Nickname | 007[2]: 509 |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  Royal Indian Navy (1940–1947) Pakistan Navy (1947–71) |
| Years of service | 1938–1971 |
| Rank |   Vice Admiral (S/No. PN.007) |
| Unit | Navy Executive Branch |
| Commands | Eastern Command Commander Logistics (COMLOG) Commander Pakistan Fleet DGNaval Intelligence (DGNI) COPNSTariq Aide-de-camp toLouis Mountbatten Military AdvisorEast-Pakistan military |
| Battles/wars | |
| Military awards |  Distinguished Service Cross Legion of Merit Medalha de Mérito Militar |
Syed Mohammad AhsanHQA,SPk,DSC,DMM,LOM (Urdu:سید محمد احسن born December 1920 – died August 1989)[3]: 47 [4] often known asS. M. Ahsan, was a senior admiral of thePakistan Navy who was theCommander in Chief of the Pakistan Navy, serving under PresidentAyub Khan from 1966 until 1969.
After that, he briefly served in PresidentYahya Khan's administration asFinance minister before becoming Governor ofEast Pakistan in September 1969 until resigning in March 1971 to return to Pakistan. Gaining a commission in theRoyal Indian Navy, he participated as a naval officer duringWorld War II with the British and later decided to become a Pakistani citizen following thepartition of India by the United Kingdom in 1947. He played a crucial role in establishing theInter-Services Intelligence and served in thewar with India in 1965.[5] Assuming thenaval command in 1966, he took initiatives such as establishing the navalspecial forces, expanding the capabilities ofNaval Intelligence and modernising the navy.[6][7]
He was a trusted colleague of President Ayub Khan while attending thecabinet meetings chaired by President Ayub which enabled him to influentially consolidate hisnational security role in the Ayub administration. After completing his tenure as naval chief, he was appointedGovernor of East Pakistan while serving as a cabinet minister in the Yahya administration. On 1 September 1969, Vice-Admiral Ahsan assumed as the Governor of East Pakistan until his resignation, in protest, on 7 March 1971. He was then posted back to West Pakistan.[5]
Ahsan was born inHyderabad Deccan,Indian Empire in December 1920.[1] After being schooled inHyderabad, he attended theNizam College of theOsmania University and gainedB.A. degree and decided to join theRoyal Indian Navy (RIN) in 1938 as aSub-Lieutenant when hisfirst cousinM.J. Syed joined theRoyal Indian Merchant Navy.[1][8][9]
In 1938, Ahsan was accepted to join theBritannia Royal Naval College in United Kingdom where he was trained, and after a short probationary period inRoyal Navy, he was given commission asLieutenant in Executive Branch of the Royal Indian Navy.[1][10] He specialized inSignals and was an instructor at theCombined Cadet Force in Liverpool, England.[1][8]
DuringWorld War II he was a RINnaval officer on the side of Great Britain and saw actions in theAtlantic battle against theGerman Kriegsmarine.[2]: 510–511 Upon posting back toBritish India, he participated inArakan Campaign in 1942–43 and later served well in theMediterranean theatre in 1944–45.[1] His actions of valor earned his decoration with theDistinguished Service Cross by the United Kingdom after theend of World War II in 1945.[2]: 511
In 1946, he was appointedaide-de-camp (ADC) to Viceroy of India,Lord Mountbatten and assisted him incabinet meetings to resolve political crises in the British Indian Empire.[11]: 169–170
When the United Kingdomannounced its intentions forpartition of India in 1947, Ahsan decided toopt forPakistan and was introduced by Lord Mountbatten toMuhammad Ali Jinnah as his ADC.[11]: 169 In a meeting with Jinnah, Lord Mountbatten reportedly quoted: [President] Jinnah, I give you Pakistan, I give you my Aide'd camp, Lieutenant Ahsan."[11]: 169
At the time of his joining thePakistan Navy, theIndian Navy sent the military seniority list to Pakistan'sMinistry of Defence (MoD) where then Lieutenant Ahsan was the 4th ranking officer in the Executive Branch in terms of seniority withService No. PN-007.[12] He was assigned as military adviser and ADC tofounding father and the firstGovernor-General M.A. Jinnah.[13][14] In 1947, Lt. Ahsan was the first person at theJinnah Terminal to receive Lord Mountbatten when he first arrived to Karachi to meet Jinnah.[15] He did not participate in thefirst war with India onKashmir crises in 1947.[10]
On 30 September 1949, he witnessed the commissioning of thePNSTippu Sultan from the Royal Navy and was subsequently promoted asLieutenant-Commander.[16] He was made FirstExecutive officer of PNSTippu Sultan and latercommanding thePNSTariq asCommander in 1950.[16] He participated in Task Force 92 alongside CommanderA.R. Khan who commanded theTippu Sultan and made a first goodwill visit toMalta, Middle East and Eastern Europe.[16] In 1951, he commanded thePNS Tughril which became a part of the 25th Destroyer.[16]
His first assignment included his role as Deputy Director ofNaval Intelligence at theNavy NHQ while establishing his intelligence department.[17]
At December 1952, he was asked by theDirector-General of Inter-Services Intelligence Major-GeneralRobert Cawthome to send a priority report that compiled detail discussions withPakistani military personnel on the basic principles of theISI.[17] In addition, he was also asked for military's reaction towards theBasic Principles Committee where he ultimately warned of thetheocracy and concluded that the economic disparities betweenEast andWest Pakistan must be addressed to prevent thebreaking-up of the nation'sunity.[17] In 1959–60, he served aschief of staff of the Navy NHQ under theNavy Commander in Chief.[17]
In 1955–56, he was posted to thePakistan Embassy in Washington D.C. asnaval attaché.[1] During this time, he went to attend theNaval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, graduated with astaff course degree from the College of Naval Command and Staff of the Naval War College.[3]
In 1957, he was promoted asCaptain and assigned to command thecruiser warship, thePNSBabur, that sailed inKarachi the following year.[18]: 55
In 1960, he was promoted to theone-star rank,Commodore, and directed the Naval Intelligence during this time.[10][19]: 219 In 1961–62, he was appointed deputy chief military planning officer ofSoutheast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) inBangkok and later became its chief military officer.[1]
In 1962, he was promoted toRear Admiral and established theLogistics Command to resolve thelogistics problems in both East and West Pakistan.[10] In 1964, he was sent toDacca and took over the chairmanship of theEast-Pakistan Inland Water Transport Authority where he had begun training ofEast-Pakistani military onriverine tactics with the absence of the strong naval presence.[18]: 61–62 During this time, he became the principalmilitary secretary to President Ayub Khan.[5] In a short time, Rear-Admiral Ahsan gained influence on President Ayub Khan and advised him on important military issues concerning the defence of the nation at the cabinet meeting chaired by the President Ayub.[5]
While in East, he played a crucial role in deployment of armed forces and prevented the army to involve in politics while opposing any military action against East Pakistani activists after theriots in 1964 despite the calls.[5][20]
In 1965, he was stationed back to Pakistan and assumed the command of Naval Intelligence as itsDirector-General, and participated insecond war with India in 1965.[21] Rear-Admiral Ahsan and his staff at theNavy NHQ helped plan out thenaval offense inDwarka and partially leading the fleet as its Commander.[21] The operation met with mixed results but it stopped theIndian Air Force raiding Karachi and Pakistan's coastal areas as Admiral Ahsan collated the intelligence reports on the Indian Navy's strategic western naval positions, and orchestrated naval operations against the Indian Navy.[22]
President Ayub Khan appointed him as commander in chief of the Navy in October 1966.[1]
In 1967, he was promoted to the three-star rank,Vice-Admiral, and was honored withSitara-e-Pakistan by President Ayub.[23][24]
As a naval chief, he oversaw the induction of theDaphné submarines procured from France in 1966 in navy's submarine branch.[7]
Since 1966–68, Admiral Ahsan knew of Indian Navy massiveprocurement and acquisitions ofweapon systems being acquired from theSoviet Union and United Kingdom.[18]: 63 On multiple meetings with President Ayub, he raised the issue of modernizing the navy against India, and kept warning theArmy GHQ of potential and possible Indian Navy's attack onWest andEast region of the country; his reservations were bypassed on every meeting and warnings were not heeded due to the financial reasons.[18]: 63 His Navy NHQ staff was in brief conflict with theAir AHQ staff over the establishment ofnaval aviation by induction of fighter jets in 1968.[18]: 63 The Air AHQ staff bypassed his recommendation over the loss of jets and their pilots in seas in an event of conflict with India.[18]: 63 He succeeded in convincing President Ayub to acquire the missile boats only, and permissions were granted to procure the Soviet-builtOsa-class missile boat in 1968.[25]: 106–107
He led series of unsuccessful talks with theSoviet Navy and Russian MarshalAndrei Grechko in 1969 due to theirwarming of relations with India.[18]: 63 [25]: 108 From 1966 to 1969, hisNavy NHQ staff tussle with theFinance ministry over the issues of budget and financial support for modernization of navy without any success.[18]: 64
He established theSpecial Services Group Navy (SSG[N]) and commissioned thePakistan Marines in 1966 after commissioning the navalfacilities for training purposes in thespecial operations.[18]: 64
In 1966, he further accepted the recommendation fromUnited States Navy to train its special forces unit, an equivalent organization to that ofU.S. Navy SEALs.[6]
In Karachi, he went on to commission theNaval Academy to provide teaching of the naval staff and cadets instead of sending cadets to United Kingdom for training and education.[26] From 1966 to 1968, he served on theBoard of Governors ofCadet College Petaro.[27]
Vice-Admiral Ahsan is also credited with foundingPort Qasim – Pakistan's second port – after exploring the coast aroundPhitti Creek, when he was Chief of Naval Staff.[28] He immediately met with then–Foreign MinisterZulfikar Ali Bhutto where he convinced Bhutto in 1972 to locate the port there.[28]
After convincing Bhutto, he supervised the construction and establishment of the port where he set up the main industries and machineries at the Port.[28] The main channel of this port bears his name.[28] From 1966 to 1969, he established theEast-Pakistan Navy and commissioned thewarships,PNSSylhet andPNS Tughril, in its arm.[18]: 64 However, he struggled with expanding the East-Pakistan Navy's capabilities as many sailors and officers had defected to India to join theAwami League's military wing– theMukti Bahini.[18]: 64
After PresidentAyub Khan tendered resignation due to worsening oflaw and order situation in the country, he invitedCommander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army GeneralYahya Khan to take over thepresidency.[10] In 1969, he relieved thenaval command to AdmiralMuzaffar Hassan to be appointed deputyCMLA under Yahya administration.[29]
In August 1969, he joined the Yahya administration ascabinet minister offinance,statistics,commerce,industry, andplanning commission.[30] However, this was short-lived and Admiral Ahsan was appointed Governor of East Pakistan on 1 September 1969.[31]: 539 [32]
The assignment was considered very difficult by thePakistani military when many senior officials in West were reluctant to accept appointments in East Pakistan.[33] During the Cabinet meeting, President Yahya was told that the situation in East is critical, and his government needed an administrator with a good reputation in the province.[32] Admiral Ahsan was appointed governor in East and arrived inDacca to take an oath fromDhaka High Court Justice Salahuddin at theDhaka University in 1969.[1]: 143 [34] In talks with representatives of Pakistani print and electronic news media, Admiral Ahsan reportedly quoted that he was "pretty sure" that by 1971, new government of elected representatives would replace the interim government."[31]: 539
He became governor of East Pakistan in 1969.[35]: 122–125 Soon after, he was reportedly in conflict with Governor of West Pakistan, Air MarshalNur Khan, over the issues oflegal and political reforms in the country while President Yahya was in conflict with his army chief Lieutenant-GeneralAbdul Hamid Khan on administrative issues in 1969–70.[35]: 122
Many initiatives were taken by Admiral Ahsan to resolve the political crises of East by keeping in good terms with President Yahya and noted that thesix-points were not new.[36]: 84 In 1969, he paid astate visit to the United States to meet withElliot Richardson to gain foreign support for East Pakistan and sustainability in the region.[37]: 69 In addition, he also arranged the visit of U.S. Navy officials to visit him at theGovernor's House, Dhaka tostrengthened military relations with the United States.[11]: 188–191 [self-published source?]
In 1970, his government coordinated efforts to rehabilitate the infrastructure after thedeadly cyclone and used the military to coordinate relief operations after meeting with President Yahya who had instructed him to "take charge".[38]: 33 [39]
In 1970, he oversaw the electoral process to hold the nationwideparliamentary elections held in the country in a charged atmosphere.[40] Under his rule, the law and order had been improved and it was projected that Awami League led bySheikh Mujibur Rahman would claim thesupermajority in theprovincial assembly that would allow them to form the national government inIslamabad.[40] The Awami League secured ~53.4% of the seats in theParliament as opposed to thePakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led byZulfikar Ali Bhutto who ended up with 27.5% of the seats – all from West Pakistan.[40] Zulfikar Bhutto refused to negotiate the six points when President Yahya met with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and put more stress on the situation after telling his party workers not to visit Dhaka.[41]: 64–65 About the postponing of the power ceremony,Kamal Hossain reportedly notified Admiral Ahsan of "danger" of delaying the power transition.[41]: 65
Ahsan and Lieutenant-GeneralSahabzada Yaqub Khan, the martial law administrator for East Pakistan, repeatedly argued to President Yahya thatmilitary action was not the solution to the crisis in East Pakistan.[38]: 41–42 [42] On 22 February 1971, Ahsan attended a high-level meeting chaired by President Yahya Khan, a gathering which Ahsan described as "tense", where the atmosphere was highly "anti-Bengali", with no Bengali representation in the policy and decision-making.[40] He opposed a military solution to the supposed crisis in East Pakistan.[40]
Admiral Ahsan renewed his offer to President Yahya, Rahman, and Bhutto to work out an arrangement where the Pakistani military deployments to support theEastern Command could get out intact, withoutbeing humiliated.[43] Known as theAhsan Formula, Pakistan would become a confederation of the two wings, giving East Pakistan a degree of autonomy. Yahya would head the confederation. East Pakistanis in West Pakistan would be moved to East Pakistan and vice versa. National assets would be divided in proportion to population.[43] The military vetoed the plan.[43] In February 1971, he supervised the military deployments in East that were already preparing to conduct a military operation to curb the movement.[44]
Disheartened and isolated by his colleagues, Admiral Ahsan tried reaching President Yahya by telephone without success.[41]: 65 On 7 March 1971, Admiral Ahsan resigned in protest from his position as Martial Law Administrator of East Pakistan. He participated in the1971 war with India but without an assignment of any command at the Navy headquarters and soughthonorable discharge from the navy after thewar ended in the winter of 1971.[44]
In an article titled "A nation's shame" published in theNewsline magazine of September 2000, Ahsan concluded:
But who was responsible for creating this hostile atmosphere and hatred among the people? The situation deteriorated further after General Yahya Khan postponed the first session of the newly elected constituent assembly. It became very clear immediately after the election results that the generals were not prepared to transfer power to the Awami League. First the delay in summoning the National Assembly session and later its postponement confirmed the Bengalis' worst fears, that the election results were not acceptable both to the generals and to the majority of West Pakistani politicians. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto publicly called for a boycott of the assembly session. Such a transgression was bound to further fuel public resentment.
He welcomed the formation of theWar Enquiry Commission that was to be chaired byChief JusticeHamoodur Rahman in 1972, and attended its proceedings.[40] He testified before the commission and described the hostile mood of the military leadership when they decided to postpone the assembly session and launch a military operation in the eastern province.[40] Ahsan stated:
On arrival in Rawalpindi, I was alarmed to notice the high tide ofmilitarism flowing turbulently.... There was open talk of a military solution according to plan. I was caught quite unaware in this atmosphere for I know of no military solution which could possibly solve whatever crisis was supposed to be impending in the minds of the authorities. It was evident from the statement that the decision to launch a military operation was taken without consulting the Governor of East Pakistan who was the only sane voice in the government.The President presided over the meeting of the governors and martial law administrators attended as usual by the military and the civilian officers of theintelligence community. It is relevant to record that among the tribe of governors and MLAs, I was the only non-army governor and the only active naval officer in the midst of active service men. I was the only person, though a non-Bengali, who had to represent the sentiments of seventy million Bengalis to aPakistani government. During the past 17 months, in meetings and conferences, my brief ran counter to the cut-and-dried solutions of Pakistan representatives and civil servants. The president invariably gave decisions which accommodated East Pakistan's viewpoint, at least partially. This made me unpopular with my colleagues who probably thought I was "difficult at best" and "sold" to the Bengalis at worst.[40]
Ahsan retired from the Navy in late 1971.[2]: 511 He was appointed chairman of Port Qasim Authority in 1972 and later chairman ofNational Shipping Corporation from 1975 to 1976.[45] After leaving the public service in 1976, he spent his remaining years in quietness and put himself out of public eye during his last years. During his last years, Admiral Ahsan learned French and played bridge.[46][47]
Ahsan died in August 1989.[48]
In 1990, the Pakistan Navy established anaval base inBalochistan and commissioned in 1991 asPNS Ahsan to honor his services.[49]
The main channel ofPort Qasim bears his name and is known as Ahsan Channel. It was inaugurated by Prime MinisterBenazir Bhutto, who acknowledged Admiral Ahsan as the founder of Port Qasim in a speech during the opening of a new terminal at Port Qasim on 4 August 1989.[50]
admiral ahsan six point.
{{cite web}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link){{cite web}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief, Pakistan Navy 20 October 1966 – 31 August 1969 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Martial Law Administrator (East Pakistan) 1 September 1969 – 7 March 1971 | Succeeded by Sahabzada Yaqub Khan |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor ofEast Pakistan 1969–1971 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Finance Minister of Pakistan 1969 | Succeeded by |
Chiefs of Naval Staff of thePakistan Navy | ||
|---|---|---|
| Commander-in-Chief (Two-to-three-star admirals) |  | |
| Chiefs of Naval Staff (Four-star admiral) | ||
| Vice Chiefs of Naval Staff | ||
