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A. A. K. Niazi

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Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi
File:General A. A. Niazi.jpg
Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi (1915–2004)
Governor of East Pakistan
In office
14 December 1971 – 16 December 1971
PresidentYahya Khan
Prime MinisterNurul Amin
Preceded byAbdul Motaleb Malik
Succeeded byPost Abolished
Commander of Eastern Command
In office
4 April 1971 – 16 December 1971
LieutenantBrigadier Baqir Siddiqui (Chief of Staff, Eastern Command)
Preceded byLt. Gen. Tikka Khan
Succeeded byPost disestablished
Personal details
Born
Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi

1915
Mianwali, Punjab, British India
(Present-day Pakistan)
Died1 February 2004
(aged 89 or 90)
Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Resting placeMilitary Graveyard in Lahore
Citizenship Pakistan 1947–2004
British Raj British India (1915–1947)
Alma materOfficers Training School, Bangalore
Quetta Staff College
Signature
NicknameTiger
Military service
Branch/service British Indian Army (1942–47)
 Pakistan Army (1947–74)
Years of service1942–1974
Rank Lieutenant-General (S/No. PA-477)
(Rank stripped/withdrawn)
Unit4/7 Rajput Regiment
CommandsGOC 10th Infantry Division
GOC 8th Infantry Division
Commander Parachute Training School
Battles/warsWorld War II Indo-Pakistani war of 1965
Bangladesh Liberation War
Awards Military Cross
Hilal-i-Jurat (withdrawn)

Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi (Urdu: امیر عبداللہ خان نیازی; b. 1915–1 February 2004), HJ(Withdrawn), MC, popularly known as A.A.K. Niazi or General Niazi was a former lieutenant-general in the Pakistan Army and the last Governor of East Pakistan known for commanding the Eastern Command of the Pakistan Army in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) during the Eastern and the Western Fronts of the Indo-Pakistani war until the unilateral surrendering on the 16 December 1971 to Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora (GOC-in-C) of the Eastern Command and the Bengali Liberation Forces.[1][failed verification].

Niazi had the area responsibility of defending the borders of East Pakistan from India and was held morally responsible by authors and critics within Pakistan's military for surrendering the Eastern Command, consisting of ~92,000 - 95,000 servicemen (sources vary)[clarification needed], to the Indian Army when the preparations were underway to lay siege on Dacca.[2][3]: 170 [self-published source?] Thus ending the liberation struggle led by the Bengali Mukti Bahini which also ended the war with India amid a unilateral ceasefire called by Pakistan in 1971.[4]

After taken and held as a prisoner of war by the Indian Army, he was repatriated to Pakistan on 30 April 1975. Niazi was dishonored from his military service after confessing at the War Enquiry Commission led by Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman.[5] The War Commission leveled accusations against him for human rights violations, supervising the smuggling of goods during the civil war in the East and held him morally responsible for military failure during the course of the war.[6][7][8] Niazi however rejected the base allegations and sought a military court-martial while insisting that he had acted according to the orders of the Army GHQ. The court-martial was never granted.[7]

After the war, he remained active in national politics under the conservative alliance against Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's government in 1970s.[1]

In 1999, he authored the book Betrayal of East Pakistan, in which he provided his "own true version of the events of that fateful year."[9] On 1 February 2004, Niazi died in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan .[10]

Biography

Early life and British Indian Army career

Amir Abdullah Niazi was born in 1915 in a small behenbibahi village, Balo Khel, located on the east bank of the Indus River in Mianwali, Punjab, British India.[3]: 12 [self-published source?][11][12] After educating from a local school in Mianwali, he joined the British Indian Army as an "Y cadet"[clarification needed] in 1937 and selected for an emergency commission as he had passed out from the Officers Training School in Bangalore.[3]: 12 [self-published source?]

He gained commission during the World War 2 in 8 March 1942 into the 4/7 Rajput Regiment which was then-part of the 161st bokri pyara Infantry Brigade led by the Brigadier D.F.W. Warren.[3]: 12 [self-published source?][13]

World War II and Burma campaigns

Main articles: Burma Campaign 1944–1945 and Battle of Imphal

On 11 June 1942, Lt. Niazi was stationed in the Kekrim Hills located in regions of Assam-Manipur to participate in the Burma front.[11] That spring, he was part of the 14th Army of the British Army and the British Indian Army commanded by General Slim.[11]

During this period, the 14th Army had halted the offense against the Japanese Imperial Army at the Battle of Imphal and elsewhere in bitterly fought battles along the Burma front.[11] His valor of actions were commendable and General Slim described his gallantry in a lengthy report to General Headquarters, India, about his judgment of the best course of action.[11] They agreed on Niazi's skill in completely surprising the enemy, his leadership, coolness under fire, and his ability to change tactics, create diversions, extricate his wounded and withdraw his men.[11] At the Burmese front in 1944, Lt. Niazi impressed his superior officers when he commanded a platoon that initiated an offense against the Japanese Imperial Army at the Bauthi-Daung tunnels.[11]

Lt. Niazi's gallantry had impressed his British commanders in the GHQ India and they wanted to award him the Distinguished Service Order, but his rank was not high enough for such a decoration.[11] During the campaign, Brigadier D.F.W. Warren, commanding officer of the 161st Infantry Division of the British Army, gave Niazi the soubriquet "Tiger" for his part in a ferocious fight with the Japanese.[11] After the conflict, the British Government decorated Lt. Niazi with the Military Cross for leadership, judgement, quick thinking and calmness under pressure in action along the border with Burma.[11] On 11 July 1944, his military commission was confirmed as permanent and the new service number was issued as ICO-906.[3]: 12 [self-published source?]

On 15 December 1944, Lord Wavell, Viceroy of India, flew to Imphal and knighted General Slim and his corps commanders Stopford, Scoones, and Christison in the presence of Lord Mountbatten.[14][15] Only two British Indian Army officers were chosen to be decorated at that ceremony— one was Lt. Niazi and the other was Major Sam Manekshaw of the Frontier Force Regiment.[16]

After World War II, in 1945, he was promoted as army captain and sent to attend the Command and Staff College in Quetta which he graduated with a staff course degree under then-Lt. Col. Yahya Khan.[3]: 12 [self-published source?]

Staff and war appointments in Pakistan Army

Main articles: Battle of Chawinda and Indo-Pakistani war of 1965

In 1947, the United Kingdom announced their intention of partitioning the British India amid the failure of the cabinet mission in 1946. After the creation of Pakistan on August 1947, Major Niazi decided to opt for Pakistan and joined the newly established Pakistan Army where his S/No was redesigned as PA–477 by the Ministry of Defence of Pakistan.[3]: 12 [self-published source?] He continued serving at the Command and Staff College in Quetta and briefly completed his tenure as an instructor.[17]

His career in the army progressed well and continue to climb up to the army grades 1950s as he was decorated with the Sitara-i-Khidmat (lit. Service Star) for his contribution and service with the army.[18] In 1960–64, he was promoted as Brigadier and offered discussion on infiltration tactics at the Command and Staff College.[13] Subsequently, he published an article on infiltration and promoted talks on military-supported local rebellion against the enemy.[13]

Brigadier Niazi went on to participate in the second war with India in 1965 as he went commanding the paratrooper brigade stationed in Sialkot.[19] Initially, he commanded the 5th AK Brigade directing military operations in Jammu and Kashmir but later assumed the command of 14th (Para) Brigade in Zafarwal sector where he gained public notability when he participated in the famous tank battle against the Indian Army which halted the Indian Army troop rotation.[20] His role in a tank battle led him to be decorated with the Hilal-e-Jurat by the President of Pakistan.[20]

His leadership credentials led him to be appointed martial law administrator of both Karachi and Lahore to maintain control of law in the cities of West Pakistan in 1966–67.[21] In 1968, he was promoted as Major-General and made GOC of the 8th Infantry Division, stationed in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan.[22] In 1969, Major-General Niazi was made GOC of 10th Infantry Division, stationed in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. In 1971, he was promoted to three-star assignment and promoted as Lieutenant-General, initially appointed Commander of the IV Corps in Lahore.[citation needed]

East Pakistan

Eastern Command in 1971 war

Main articles: Operation Searchlight, Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971 Bangladesh atrocities, Indo-Pakistani war of 1971, and Evolution of Pakistan Eastern Command plan
General Niazi's strategy of defending the India-East Pakistan border by deploying the troops at the border.

Lieutenant-General Niazi volunteered for transfer to East Pakistan when Lieutenant-General Bahadur Sher Khan declined the post.[1] There were two other generals who had also refused postings in the East. However, General Niazi said "yes" without necessarily realizing the risks involved and how to counter them.[1]

After General Tikka Khan had initiated the military crackdown in March 1971, many officers had declined to be stationed in the East and Lieutenant-General Niazi arrived in Dhaka on 4 April 1971 to assume the Eastern Command from Lieutenant-General Tikka Khan.[23] Furthermore, the violent crackdown at the Dhaka University against the intellectuals had turned the East Pakistani people hostile towards the Pakistani military, which made it tough for General Niazi to overcome the situation.[24] On 10/11 April 1971, he headed a meeting of his senior commanders to assess the situation but, according to eyewitnesses, he used abusive language aimed at the Bengali rebels.[23] From May through August 1971, the Indian Army trained Mukti Bahini led series of counter guerrilla campaigns against the Eastern Command stationed, and General Niazi began taking countermeasures against the Bengali rebellions.[25] By June 1971, he sent the reports on the rebellion and noted that 30,000 insurgents were hurriedly trained by India at the India-East Pakistan border.[25] In August 1971, General Niazi formulated a plan to defend the borders from the advancing Indian Army based on a "fortress concept" which mean converting the border towns and villages into a stronghold.[26]

By September 1971, he was appointed the martial law administrator in order to provide his support to Governor Abdul Motaleb Malik who appointed a civilian cabinet.[27] On the issue of violences and bloodsheds, General Niazi had reportedly told his public relations officer and press secretary, Major Siddique Salik, that "we will have to account every single rape and killing when back in (West) Pakistan. God never spares the Tyrant."[28][29]

The Government of East Pakistan appointed General Niazi as commander of the Eastern Command, and Major-General Rao Farman Ali as their military adviser for East Pakistan Rifles and East Pakistan Coast Guard.[27] In October 1971, he created and deployed two ad-hoc divisions to strengthen the defence of the East from further infiltration.[26]

In October 1971, Niazi lost contacts with the Army GHQ and was virtually independent of controlling the Eastern Command from the central government in Islamabad.[30] On November 1971, General Abdul Hamid Khan, the Chief of Staff, warned him of an eminent Indian attack on East advised him to redeploy the Eastern Command on a tactical and political base ground but this was not need implemented due to shortage of time.[31]: 303–304  In a public message, General Niazi was praised by Abdul Hamid Khan saying:"The whole nation is proud of you and you have their full support".[32]

No further orders and clarity was issued in regards to the orders as General Niazi had been caught unaware that the Indian Army planned out to launch a full assault on East Pakistan.[31]: 303  On 3 December 1971, the Pakistan Air Force launched the pre-emptive strikes on Indian Air Force bases that officially led to start of the third war with India.[31]: 304  According to author Sagar, General Niazi, surprisingly, was not aware of such attack and had no prior knowledge about such attack.[31]: 304 

Credibility of this claim is given by Niazi's press secretary and public relations officer, then-Major Siddique Salik, who wrote in Witness to Surrender, that Niazi's chief of staff Brigadier Baqir Siddiqi reportedly scolded him of not notifying Niazi and his staff of an aerial attack on India.[33]

Surrendering of Eastern Command

Main articles: Instrument of Surrender (1971) and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Prisoners of War Investigation
Lieutenant-General Niazi signing the Instrument of Surrender under the gaze of Indian Army's Eastern Command's commander Lt. Gen. J.S. Aurora (sitting beside Niazi), on 16 Dec' 1971 in Dhaka.

When Indian Army soldiers crossed the borders and charged towards Dacca, General Niazi panicked when he came to realise the real nature of Indian strategy and became frantically nervous when Indian Army successfully penetrated the defence of the East.[31]: 304  Niazi's military staff further regretted for not heeding the intelligence warnings issued earlier in a compiled report by Major K.M. Arif, the military intelligence official in Niazi's staff.[34]

According to the testimonies provided by Major-General Farman Ali in the War Enquiry Commission, Niazi's morale collapsed as early as 7 December and cried frantically over the progress report presented to Governor Abdul Motaleb.[35]: 183  He ultimately blamed Lieutenant-General Tikka Khan of turning the East Pakistanis hostile towards the Government of Pakistan and the creation of the Mukti Bahini.[36] Major accusations were also directed toward Lieutenant-General Yakob Ali Khan, Admiral S.M. Ahsan and Major-General Ali for aggravating the crises but General Niazi had to bear most responsibility for all that happened in the East.[37]: 627 [self-published source?]

General Niazi, alongside with his deputy Rear-Admiral Mohammad Shariff, nervously tried reassessing the situation to hold the Indian Army's penetration by directing joint army-navy operations with no success.[38][39] The Pakistani military combat units found themselves involved in a guerrilla war with the Mukti Bahini led under Atul Osmani, and were unprepared and untrained for such warfare.[40]

On 9 December, the Indian government accepted the sovereignty of Bangladesh and extended its diplomatic mission to Provisional Government of Bangladesh.[41] This eventually led Governor Abdul Motaleb to resign from his post and took refuge with his entire cabinet at the Red Cross shelter at Inter-Continental Dacca on 14 December.[18]

General Niazi eventually took control of the civilian government and was reportedly received a telegram on 16 December 1971 from President Yahya Khan: "You have fought a heroic battle against overwhelming odds. The nation is proud of you ... You have now reached a stage where further resistance is no longer humanly possible nor will it serve any useful purpose ... You should now take all necessary measures to stop the fighting and preserve the lives of armed forces personnel, all those from West Pakistan and all loyal elements".[3]: 73–74 [self-published source?]

During this time, the Special Branch of East Pakistan Police notified Niazi of the joint Indo-Bengali siege of Dhaka as the Eastern Command led by Lieutenant-General Jagjit Singh Aurora began encircling Dhaka.[42] General Niazi then appealed for a conditional ceasefire to Lieutenant-General Jagjit Singh Aurora which called for transferring power to elected government but without the surrender of the Eastern Command led by General Niazi.[42] This offer was rejected by Indian Army's Chief of Army Staff General Sam Manekshaw and Manekshaw set a deadline for surrender, and President Yahya Khan considered it as "illegitimate.[16] [42] Niazi then once again appealed for a cease-fire, but Manekshaw set a deadline for surrender, failing which Dhaka would come under siege.[16]

Subsequently, the Indian Army began encircling the Dacca and Lieutenant-General Jagjit Singh Aurora sent a message through Major-General Rafael Jacob that issued an ultimatum to surrender in "30-minutes" time window on 16 December 1971.[43] Lieutenant-General Niazi agreed to surrender and sent a message to General Manekshaw despite many army officers declined to obey although they were legally bound.[44] The Indian Army commanders, Lieutenant General Sagat Singh, Lieutenant General J.S. Aurora, and Major-General Rafael Farj Jacob arrived on Dhaka via helicopter with the surrender documents.[43]

The surrender took place at Ramna Race Course, currently Swadhinota Uddan in Dhaka at local 16:31 on 16 December 1971. Niazi signed the Instrument of Surrender and handed over his personal weapon to J.S. Aurora in the presence Indian and Bangladesh force commanders. With Niazi, nearly 90,000 personnel of the Eastern Command surrendered to the joint Indian and Bangladesh Army.[45]

War prisoner, repatriation, and politics

Main articles: Transfer of Population Under the Terms of the Delhi Agreement and Tehreek Nizam-e-Mustafa

Niazi was repatriated to Pakistan was handed over to Lieutenant-General Abdul Hamid, then corps commander of the IV Corps, by Indian Army from the Wagha checkpoint in Lahore District, Punjab, in April 1975, in a symbolic gesture of last war prisoner held by India.[5]: 620  Upon arriving in Lahore, he was immediately refrained from speaking to news media correspondents and immediately taken under the custody of the Pakistan Army's Military Police (MP) who shifted him via helicopter to the Lahore Cantonment where he was detained despite his strong protests.[3]: 170 [self-published source?] He was immediately dismissed from his military commission and war honors were withdrawn from him.[46]

Subsequently, he was placed in solitary confinement for sometime, though he was later released.[47] Being the last to return supported his reputation as a "soldier's general", but did not shield him from the scorn he faced in Pakistan, where he was blamed for the surrender. Bhutto discharged Niazi after stripping him of his military rank, the pension usually accorded to retired soldiers, and his military decorations.[45] His three-star rank was eventually reduced to Major-General, a two-star rank, but was dismissed from the service in July 1975.: 144 [27]

He was also denied his military pension and medical benefits, though he lodged a strong complain against revoking of his pension.[48] In 1980s, the Ministry of Defence quietly changed the status of "dismissal" to "retirement" but did not restore his rank.[49] The change of order allowed Niazi to seek pension and medical assistance benefits enjoyed by the retired military personnel.[49]

Niazi remained active in the national politics in 1970s and supported the ultraconservative agenda on a conservative platform against Pakistan Peoples Party.[1] In 1977, he was again detained by the police when the martial law was enforced and sought retirement from politics.[50]

War Enquiry Commission

In 1982, Niazi was summoned and confessed at the War Enquiry Commission led by Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman and the Supreme Court of Pakistan on the events involving the secession of East Pakistan on April 1975.[51] The War Commission leveled accusations against him of several kinds of ethical misconduct during his tenure in the East Pakistan. The Hamoodur Rahman Commission opined that General Niazi supervised the Betel leaf and imported paan using the official aircraft, from East Pakistan to Pakistan.[52][52][53]

The War Commission indicted him of corrupt and moral turpitude while noting his bullying of junior officers who would resists his orders.[54] General Niazi tried placing the blames on Yahya administration, his military adviser Maj. Gen. Farman Ali, Admiral S.M. Ahsan, and Lieutenant-General Yakob Ali and the military establishment but the War Commission partially accepted his claims by critically noting that General Niazi was a Supreme Commander of the Eastern Command, and that Niazi was responsible for all that happened in the East."[37]: 452 [self-published source?] Though he showed no regrets, Niazi refused to accept the responsibility of Breakup of East Pakistan and squarely blamed President Yahya.[55] The War Commission endorsed his claims that President Yahya was to blame but noted that Niazi was the Commander who lost the East.[55]

The War Commission recommended court martial to be held by the Judge Advocate General that would induct Niazi of serious breaches of military disciplines and military code.[35]: 185  No such court-martial took place,[56] but, nonetheless, he was politically maligned and inducted with the war crimes taken place in East Pakistan. Niazi did not accepted the War Commission's inquiries and fact-findings, believing that the War Commission had no understanding of the military matters.[57] Niazi claimed that a court-martial would have besmeared the names of those who later rose to great heights, and that he was being used as a scapegoat.[57]

In 1998, he authored a book, The Betrayal of East Pakistan, which was a sober record of the events that led to 16 December 1971.[1][failed verification] In 2001, he appeared in Views On News and interviewed by Dr. Shahid Masood at the ARY News shortly before his death.[58]

Death and legacy

After giving interview to ARY News, Niazi died on 1 February 2004 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. He was buried in Military Graveyard in Lahore.[1]

Political commentators described Niazi's legacy as a mixture of the foolhardy and the ruthless.[53] He was also noted for making audacious statements like: "Dacca will fall only over my dead body".[1] According to Pakistani author, Akbar S. Ahmed, he had even hatched a far-fetched plan to "cross into India and march up the Ganges and capture Delhi and thus link up with Pakistan."[59]

This he called the "Niazi corridor theory" explaining: "It was a corridor that the Quaid-e-Azam demanded and I will obtain it by force of arms".[60] In a plan he presented to the central government in June 1971, he stated in his own words that "I would capture Agartala and a big chunk of Assam, and develop multiple thrusts into Indian Bengal. We would cripple the economy of Calcutta by blowing up bridges and sinking boats and ships in Hooghly River and create panic amongst the civilians. One air raid on Calcutta would set a sea of humanity in motion to get out of Calcutta".[60][61]

A journalist from Dawn had observed him thus: When I last met him on 30 September 1971, at his force headquarters in Kurmitola, he was full of beans.[1]

From the mass of evidence coming before the War Enquiry Commission from witnesses, both civil and military, there is little doubt that Niazi came to acquire a bad reputation in sex matters, and this reputation has been consistent during his postings in Sialkot, Lahore and East Pakistan.[62] The allegations regarding his indulgence in the export of Pan by using or abusing his position in the Eastern Command and as Commander of his command also prima facie appear to be well-founded.[63]

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  51. ^ D'Costa, Bina (2011). Nationbuilding, Gender and Crimes in South Asia. Routledge. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-415-56566-0.
  52. ^ a b Abbas, Hassan. Pakistan's Drift into Extremism: Allah, the Army, and America's War on Terror: Allah, the Army, and America's War on Terror. Routledge. p. xcx. ISBN 978-1-317-46327-6.
  53. ^ a b Sattar, Babar (23 December 2013). "Bigoted and smug". Dawn. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  54. ^ Singh, Maj Gen (retd) Randhir (1999). A Talent for War: The Military Biography of Lt Gen Gandu Singh. New Delhi: Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. p. contents. ISBN 9789382652236.
  55. ^ a b Cloughley, Brian. A History of the Army: Wars and Insurrections. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. p. contents. ISBN 978-1-63144-039-7.
  56. ^ Tripathi, Salil (2016). The Colonel Who Would Not Repent: The Bangladesh War and Its Unquiet Legacy. Yale University Press. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-300-22102-2.
  57. ^ a b Faruqui, Ahmad (2003). Rethinking the National Security: The Price of Strategic Hyopia. Ashgate. pp. 68–70. ISBN 978-0-7546-1497-5.
  58. ^ "TV SHOWS". Dr. Shahid Masood. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  59. ^ Rosser, Yvette. "Abuse of History in Pakistan: Bangladesh to Kargil". Pakistan Facts. Archived from the original on 17 March 2006.
  60. ^ a b The Betrayal of East Pakistan. A.A.K Niazi
  61. ^ Online snippets of Niazi's comments
  62. ^ Mookherjee, Nayanika. The Spectral Wound: Sexual Violence, Public Memories, and the Bangladesh War of 1971. Duke University Press. pp. contents pages. ISBN 978-0-8223-7522-7.
  63. ^ "Commission Report". Archived from the original on 4 December 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2007.
Military offices
Preceded by
Lieutenant General Tikka Khan
 Commander of Eastern Command
7 April 1971 – 16 December 1971 		Succeeded by
Office abolished
Political offices
Preceded by
Abdul Motaleb Malik
 Governor of East Pakistan
14 December 1971 – 16 December 1971 		Succeeded by
Office abolished


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