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Lieutenant General

Javed Nasir

HI(M)  SBt
Native name
جاويد ناصر
Birth nameJaved Nasir
Born(1936-12-22)22 December 1936
Lahore, Punjab Province, British India
Died16 October 2024(2024-10-16) (aged 87)
Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Buried
Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Allegiance Pakistan
Service / branch Pakistan Army
Years of service1953–1993
Rank Lieutenant-General
Service numberPA – 5646
UnitPakistan Army Corps of Engineers
CommandsDG ISI
Engineer-in-Chief
Chairman POF
Chief Instructor at NDC
Ojhri Cantonment
Frontier Works Organization
Battles / warsIndo-Pakistani War of 1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Kashmiri insurgency
First Afghan Civil War
Bosnian War
Awards Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military)
Sitara-e-Basalat
Other workMissionary for Tablighi Jamaat
Later, a hedge fund manager, and private security contractor

Javed Nasir HI(M) SBt (Urdu: جاويد ناصر; 22 December 1936 – 16 October 2024) was a Pakistani engineering officer who served as the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), appointed on 14 March 1992 until 13 May 1993.[1]

Known for being member of Tablighi Jamaat, Nasir gained national prominence as his role of bringing the unscattered mass of Afghan Mujahideen to agree to the power-sharing formula to form Afghan administration under President Mojaddedi in Afghanistan in 1992–93.[1] Later, he played an influential and decisive role in the Bosnian war when he oversaw the covert military intelligence programme to support the Bosnian Army against the Serbs, while airlifting the thousands of Bosnian refugees in Pakistan.[1]

Biography

[edit]

Javed Nasir was born in Lahore, Punjab in British India on 22 December 1936,[2]: 112 [3]: 834  and was Punjabi Kashmiri.[4]: 148 [5]: 169  After his intermediate from Government College, Lahore, Nasir joined the Pakistan Army and entered in the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul in 1953. He was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers in 1958 and commanded a sapper platoon. Between 1958 and 1959 he was attached to the Frontier Force Regiment as an infantry officer, serving as Company 2 i/c and staff officer-communications of an infantry battalion. He was attached to the East Pakistan Rifles as a company commander between 1959 and 1962. Thereafter he commanded a pioneer company attached to the Independent Engineering Brigade, Force Command Northern Areas Gilgit between 1962 and 1964. Promoted to major in 1964, he was posted as an instructor at the Engineering Corps Recruit & Training Depot Risalpur.

In 1966, he was assigned to a staff position in the Quartermaster General office in the GHQ until the end of the year. He was then posted as a senior instructor in the Military College of Engineering, Risalpur until 1969. He attended the Command & Staff College Quetta for senior Command Course (to be eligible to command Battalions and Brigades) in 1969–1970. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1971 and to Colonel in 1976. For a time between 1978 and 1980 he commanded an infantry battalion i.e. the 3rd Battalion, Azad Kashmir Regiment. He was thereafter posted as Colonel GS of the 25th Mechanized Division, Malir. He was promioted to brigadier in 1981 and commanded the Independent Engineering Brigade at Gilgit until 1983. Thereafter he was posted as a Senior Instructor in Command & Staff College Quetta until 1985 until being promoted to major general. His first assignment as major general was as major general – engineering, attached to the office of DGMO, GHQ.[6] He gained commission as second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers of the Pakistan Army, where his career was mostly spent.[6]

In 1967, Nasir qualified as a licensed professional engineer (PE) by the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC).[3]: 834 

He was known to have served in the combat engineering formations during the second war with India in 1965 as army captain.[7][3]: 834 

After the third war with India in 1971, Maj. Nasir went to Australia where he attended and graduated in staff course from the Australian Army Staff College.[8] In 1980s, he was sent to attend the National Defence University (NDU) in Islamabad, and graduated with MSc in Strategic studies.[6] In 1983–90, Major-General Nasir joined the faculty of the Armed Forces War College of the NDU, where he taught courses on war studies for seven years, eventually being promoted as chief instructor.[6][9][10]

In the military circles, Maj-Gen. Nasir was described as a "moderate person" who rediscovered Islam in 1986 during the midst of the Russian war in neighbouring Afghanistan.[4]: 148–149  In 1988, Maj-Gen. Nasir gained public fame when he was appointed inspector-general of engineering formation that investigated the environmental disaster befall at the military storage located in the Rawalpindi Cantonment.[11] Against the United States, German and French military estimation, Maj-Gen. Nasir personally led his formation at the ground to clear out the entire storage containing the chemical and explosive materials, as well as the missile ordnance in mere two weeks.[2][11]: 112–113 

In 1989, he was appointed director-general of Frontier Works Organization (FWO) and supervised the civil construction of the Skardu International Airport which is 11,944 feet (3,641 m) above sea level.[2]: 112  On 24 September 1991, Maj-Gen. Nasir was promoted as a three-star rank army general, having appointed to command the Corps of Engineers as its Eng-in-C at the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi.[1] On 4 February 1992, Lieutenant-General Nasir was then posted as the chairman of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories at Wah in Punjab, Pakistan, until being appointed the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).[1]

Director of ISI (1992–1993)

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On 14 March 1992, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appointed Lt-Gen Nasir as the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) against the recommendations and wishes of General Asif Nawaz, then-chief of army staff (COAS).[12] The appointment was seen as a political motive for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif since General Nasir had no experience in the intelligence gathering network and was virtually a ghost in country's intelligence community.[13][14] At that time, Prime Minister Sharif had family relations with Lt-Gen. Nasir Javed, and knew him very well.[5]: 169 

In the military, he was of the view of anti-American sentiments, accusing the United States of using Islam for political reasons and against Russians in Europe, which further complicated the foreign relations between two nations.[15]: 14  He also limited the cooperation between the ISI and CIA to fight against the global terrorism, thwarting any joint efforts to fight against extremism.[15][16] Though, he did help the US to relocate and retrieve the missing guided missiles from Afghanistan based on a mutual understanding of such weapons may have fallen into wrong hands.[17]

It was during this time when ISI had been running an intensified support of insurgency in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.[18] In spite of his seniority in the military, Nasir was overlooked, and was never considered for the promotion of the four-star rank and appointment by the government during the appointment process for the command of the Army, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS).[17] Lt-Gen Nasir was among the five senior and superseding army generals when the junior-most Lt-Gen Abdul Waheed Kakar was elevated to the four-star rank and promotion to command the army.[17]

Peshawar Accord and Mojaddedi administration

[edit]
Main articles: History of Afghanistan (1992–present) and Peshawar Accord

In April 1992, Lt-Gen. Nasir became an international figure when he played major role in amalgamating the unscattered Afghan mujahideen groups when the power-sharing formula was drafted.[1] Due to his religiosity, Nasir used his persuasive power and motivational talks to agree to power-sharing formula and, witnessed to have successfully established an Afghan administration under cleric President Sibghatullah Mojaddedi in Kabul.[1]

Bosnian war

[edit]
See also: Inter-Services Intelligence activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian mujahideen, and Bosnians in Pakistan

In the military and political circles, Nasir had a reputation to be a practising Muslim who would not compromise on the interests of Islam and Pakistan. In 1992–93, Nasir defied the UN arms embargo placed on Bosnia and Herzegovina when he successfully airlifted the POF's sophisticated anti-tank guided missiles, which helped the Bosnian Muslims to force the Serbs to lift the siege much to the annoyance of the U.S. government.[1][19] While airlifting sophisticated anti-tank guided missiles to Bosnian Muslims, he pushed the Government of Pakistan to allow the Bosnian immigration to Pakistan.[20]

In 2011, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia demanded the custody of the former ISI director for his alleged support of the Inter-Services Intelligence activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to Muslim fighters of Bosnia against the Serbian army in the 1990s, the Government of Pakistan refused to hand Nasir to the UN tribunal, citing poor health.

Removal from the ISI

[edit]

The Chairman joint chiefs General Shamim Alam had completely lost the control of the ISI when the agency was running under Nasir's command.[21]: 26  General Abdul Waheed Kakar, the army chief at that time, had been at odds with Lt-Gen. Nasir due to his preaching of Islamic tradition in the military.[17] In the views of senior military officers in the Pakistani military and the civilian officials of the Ministry of Defence, Lt-Gen. Nasir was often a figure of fun whose intellect was far from being as outstanding as his white beard.[22]

During this time, the Indian government led by Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao levelled several accusations against him of supporting the Khalistan movement, the Indian Mafia and Dawood Ibrahim– the accusations he swiftly denied in 2008.[21]: 26–27  At home, Nasir began facing accusations from Pakistan Peoples Party politicians of supporting the conservative Islamic agenda in the country.[1]

In 1993, the United States formally registered their complaints to Pakistan when U.S. secretary of State James Baker had written a memo to Prime Minister Sharif putting his country on a terror watch list and was in danger of being listed as terror-supporting nation.[21]: 27–28  Responding to the complaint, Prime Minister Sharif used diplomacy when he sent his Foreign Secretary Shahryar Khan and Pakistan Senator Akram Zaki to United States assuring of Pakistan's policy of not supporting the militancy in the region.[21]: 27–28 

During this time, several Arab countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and the Philippines, lodged a strong protest against Nasir of supporting the radical movements in their respected countries.[23]: 152 [24]

Following the removal of Prime Minister Sharif, the caretaker Prime Minister Balakh Sher Mazari fired and sacked Nasir from the directorship of the ISI, and President of Pakistan Ghulam Ishaq Khan approved his premature retirement from his military commission effective from on 13 May 1993[25]: 170 — he only led the ISI for 13 months.[26]

Upon Nasir's dismissal, the new DG ISI, J.A. Qazi eventually led the massive arrests of thousands of Arab Afghans and forced the al-Qaeda to relocate itself in Afghanistan permanently.[27]: 147–149  After expulsion from Pakistan, many escaped to Bosnia to participate in the war.[27]: 149  According to many political commentators and journalists, Nasir's firing from ISI was not at the behest of the United States but, it was the friendly Arab countries' protests and pressure at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that resulted in his departure from ISI and the retirement from his 40-year long service with the military.[25]: 170 

Later life

[edit]

After his premature retirement, Nasir became a missionary for a Tablighi Jamaat, and went to the private sector where he managed and chaired the private equity firm and hedge fund, the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), when he was appointed on 14 July 1997 for a two-year contract.[25]: 171 [28]

In 1998, he was appointed chairman of Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, an organisation promoting the well-being of Sikhs in Pakistan as well as pilgrimages from abroad.[29] In October 1998, Prime Minister Sharif appointed him as his intelligence adviser but this appointment remained for short period of time.[29]: 408  For sometime, he served on the security details as head of security for the Sharif family, but the PML(N)'s lawmakers and Sharif family cut off their links and distanced themselves from Nasir after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001.[30]

In 2002–03, Nasir filed a lawsuit at the Anti Terrorism Court against the media corporations: the Daily Jang, and the News International, for character defamation when investigative articles published on him regarding monetary embezzlement when he managed the private hedge fund in Lahore.[31]

In 2007, he appeared on the Geo News and denied any allegations of terror-supporting that was levelled on him during his time as Director ISI, when interviewed by Iftikhar Ahmad.[17] At this detailed and hour-long interview, he was of the view that 9/11 was an inside job, and maintained his stance on the suppressing of the free-energy by the U.S. and Pakistan Government.[17]

In 2011, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia demanded the custody of Nasir for his alleged authorization of the covert programme to support to the Bosnian Army against the Serbian army in 1990s, the Government of Pakistan refused to hand Nasir to the UN tribunal, citing poor health and memory loss due to a road accident.[32]

In 2013, Nasir reportedly spoke against Afghan Taliban and the terrorism at the Supreme Court convention, and criticised the Taliban as an armed violent group and criticised their supporting the violent terrorism for their cause, in a response to the church bombing.[30]

Nasir died in Lahore on 16 October 2024, at the age of 87.[33]

Awards and decorations

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Hilal-e-Imtiaz

(Military)

(Crescent of Excellence)

Sitara-e-Basalat

(Star of Good Conduct)

Sitara-e-Harb 1965 War

(War Star 1965)

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 Tamgha-e-Sad Saala Jashan-e-

Wiladat-e-Quaid-e-Azam

(100th Birth Anniversary of

Muhammad Ali Jinnah)

1976

Tamgha-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

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cowasjee, Ardeshir (12 January 2003). "Three stars". Dawn. Karachi, Sindh, Pk. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Kiessling, Hein (2016). "A Dialogue with Javed Nasir" (google books). Faith, Unity, Discipline: The Inter-Service-Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan (1 ed.). London, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 310. ISBN 9781849048620. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Journal of the Institution of Engineers Pakistan. Institution of Engineers, Pakistan. 1967.
  4. ^ a b Sirrs, Owen L. (2016). "The Bearded General". Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate: Covert Action and Internal Operations (googlebooks) (1st ed.). New York City: Routledge. p. 305. ISBN 9781317196099.
  5. ^ a b Joshi, P. C. (2008). Main Intelligence Outfits of Pakistan. New Delhi, India: Anmol Publications Pvt. Limited. p. 435. ISBN 9788126135509.
  6. ^ a b c d Nasir, Lt-Gen. Javed (May 1998). "Ghauri and its Aftermath". www.defencejournal.com. Islamabad, Pakistan: Defence Journal. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  7. ^ Bhattacharya, Brigadier Samir (2014). Nothing But! (googlebooks) (1st ed.). London, UK: Partridge Publishing. pp. 372–373. ISBN 9781482817324.
  8. ^ Sehgal, Ikram ul-Majeed (2000). Defence Journal. Ikram ul-Majeed Sehgal. p. 19. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  9. ^ Scherer, John L. (1985). China Facts & Figures Annual. Academic International Press. p. 62. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  10. ^ Daily Report: Asia & Pacific. The Service. 1986. p. 59.
  11. ^ a b Nasir, Javed (2 July 2017). "Gen Javed Nasir Karguzari of Ojhri Camp Incident جنرل جاوید ناصر کی اوجڑی کیمپ کارگزاری". www.youtube.com. Message TV. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  12. ^ Journal of the United Service Institution of India. United Service Institution of India. 2001. p. 366.
  13. ^ Arif, Khalid Mahmud (2001). Khaki Shadows: Pakistan 1947-1997. Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press. pp. 365–366. ISBN 9780195793963. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  14. ^ Cloughley, Brian (2008). War, Coups & Terror: Pakistan's Army in Years of Turmoil (2 ed.). Skyhorse Publishing Inc. p. 76. ISBN 9781602396982. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  15. ^ a b Sehgal, Ikram ul-Majeed (2003). Defence Journal. Ikram ul-Majeed Sehgal. p. 14. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  16. ^ Inc, IBP (2009). Pakistan Intelligence, Security Activities and Operations Handbook - Strategic Information and Developments. Lulu.com. p. 52. ISBN 9781438737225. Retrieved 13 November 2017. {{cite book}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  17. ^ a b c d e f Ahmad, Iftikhar (25 November 2008). "DG ISI Nasir in Jawab Deh". www.youtube.com (in Urdu). Islamabad, Pakistan: Geo News Jawab Deh. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  18. ^ Datta, S. K. (2014). Inside ISI: The Story and Involvement of the ISI, Afghan Jihad, Taliban, Al-Qaeda, 9/11, Osama Bin Laden, 26/11 and the Future of Al-Qaeda~. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. p. 6. ISBN 9789382652595. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  19. ^ "Ex-ISI Chief Reveals Secret Missile Shipments to Bosnia defying UN Embargo". 23 December 2002. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
  20. ^ Sareen, Sushant (2005). The jihad factory: Pakistan's Islamic revolution in the making. Har-Anand Publications. p. 352. ISBN 978-81-241-1075-1.
  21. ^ a b c d Hussain, Zahid (2008). "Pakistan's unholy alliance""". Frontline Pakistan: The Path to Catastrophe and the Killing of Benazir Bhutto (googlebooks). Ottawa, Canada: Penguin Books, Canada. p. 220. ISBN 9780143064794. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  22. ^ Cloughley, Brian (2009). War, Coups and Terror: Pakistan's Army in Years of Turmoil. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. p. contents. ISBN 9781626368682. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  23. ^ Sareen, Sushant (2005). The Jihad Factory: Pakistan's Islamic Revolution in the Making. New Delhi: Har-Anand Publications. p. 216. ISBN 9788124110751. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  24. ^ Lodhi, PhD, Dr. Maleeha (14 May 1993). "Removal of Javed Nasir". The Newsline. Islamabad, Pakistan: Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, The Newsline. The Newsline.
  25. ^ a b c Joshi, P.C. (2008). Main intelligence outfits of Pakistan. New Delhi: Anmol Publications. ISBN 9788126135509.
  26. ^ Asian Bulletin. APACL Publications. 1993. p. 44. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  27. ^ a b Scott, Peter Dale (2007). "The Afghan Arabs after 1990" (google books). The Road to 9/11: Wealth, Empire, and the Future of America (1st ed.). Palo Alto, Ca.: University of California Press. p. 400. ISBN 9780520929944. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  28. ^ Sehri, Inam (2012). Judges and Generals of Pakistan Volume - I (google books) (1 ed.). Lahore, Pakistan: Grosvenor House Publishing. p. contents. ISBN 9781781480434. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  29. ^ a b Sharma, D. P. (2005). The New Terrorism: Islamist International. APH Publishing. ISBN 9788176487993. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  30. ^ a b Special reporter, SP (9 September 2013). "PMLN government can't control terrorism: Ex-DG ISI Khawaja Javed Nasir". express.com.pk (in Urdu). Faisalabad, Pakistan: Daily Express News Story. Daily Express News Story. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  31. ^ "Petition filed by Lt Gen (Retd) Javed Nasir, Former Director General, Inter Services Intelligence, Pakistan, before the Anti Terrorism Court, Lahore". www.satp.org. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  32. ^ Butt, Qaiser (20 September 2011). "Islamabad refuses to hand over ex-ISI chief to Bosnia tribunal - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. The Express Tribune, 2011. The Express Tribune. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  33. ^ "Former ISI chief Lt Gen Javed Nasir passes away". 24newshd.tv. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
[edit]
Military offices
Preceded by Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence
1992–1993 		Succeeded by
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