Gul Hassan Khan
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Command and Staff College Quetta | |
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In office 30 June 1957 – 16 June 1959 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Gul Hassan Khan Chief of General Staff 1 Armoured Division Director for Military Operations 100 Independent Armoured Brigade Group |
Battles/wars |
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Awards | Sitara-e-Pakistan (1971) |
Gul Hassan held the positions of
Notably, Gul Hassan was known for leading from the front. Once during training army officers, he wanted the artillery practice to mimic real war conditions. He had a bunker built at the target end of the Muzaffargarh range, which offered some security but was not completely safe, as a direct hit could destroy it. Despite the risk, Gul Hassan entered the bunker himself and instructed the gunners to fire with a narrow margin of error to test their training. He insisted that each artillery regiment take turns firing at the bunker to assess their skills. Colonel EAS Bokhari writes that "Luckily the units fired perfectly - and though Gen Gul was shaken in the bunker and came out of it with a lot of dust and fear of God in him - but he was quite safe. I have never seen any General Officer do this and ask for fire on a target where he himself was located."[5]
Early life
Gul Hassan Khan was born in
Gul Hassan survived the 1930 in Balochistan and devastating
In January 1941, Gul Hassan took the exam again and got into the academy. He was an excellent Hockey player and gained fame as a boxer at the Military Academy.[11]
Personal life
Gul Hassan was fluent in Urdu, Pashto, Punjabi, English, and Persian. Gul Hassan was married and had one son, Sher Hassan Khan, born in 1982.[12]
When his wife came from Vienna to see him in the hospital during his final days, he had given her 1.1 million rupees and his son a similar amount. The last 100,000 rupees he had left, he instructed his family to use for his funeral.[13]
British Indian Army career
On 22 February 1942, Gul Hassan was
Gul Hassan attended an Intelligence course in March 1943 at Karachi where his commandant was Lieutenant Colonel J Campbell.[12]
World War II
Gul Hassan was stationed in
Towards the end of the war, Gul Hassan was appointed as the aide-de-camp to General Viscount Slim who commanded the 14th Army in Burma.[16]
Pakistan Army
After the
Gul Hassan attended the
Gul Hassan was the Directing Staff at
During the
In September 1968, Gul Hassan was appointed as
On 20 December 1968, Gul Hassan was posted to
Role in saving Zia-ul-Haqs career
According to the testimony provided by
1971 war
In 1971, he was the
According to several sources, Gul Hassan was unaware of Operation Searchlight and had a strong dislike for General A. A. K. Niazi. In a conversation with Yahya Khan, Gul Hassan was informed about Niazi's promotion and his own. Yahya Khan asked, "When did you see General Abdul Hamid Khan [the Chief of Staff] last?" Gul Hassan replied, "I just came from his office."
Yahya continued, "Didn't he tell you that you have been promoted?" Gul Hassan, puzzled, responded, "No, Sir. Where am I going?"
Yahya clarified, "Nowhere." Confused, Gul Hassan questioned, "Then why should I be promoted?"
Yahya explained, "Because we are promoting Niazi who is junior to you. So we have had to give you the next rank."
Gul Hassan further inquired, "Where is Niazi going?" Yahya replied, "As commander
In frustration, Gul Hassan cursed out loud. In response, President Yahya Khan remarked to Sultan Khan who was also present, "This is what he thinks of my senior officers." Additionally, Gul Hassan had assessed Niazi as having a professional "ceiling no more than that of a company commander."[25]
General
Role in Yahya Khan's removal
On 17 December 1971, Brigadier F.B. Ali wrote his resignation letter accepting his own responsibility for the loss of East Pakistan and expected that Yahya Khan and his advisors would follow suit and also resign. But the next day Ali had heard that Yahya was planning to create a new Constitution which infuriated Ali. Brigadier Ali determined that the loss of one war was enough and that it was imperative to get rid of the military junta of Yahya Khan. He picked up Brigadier Iqbal Mehdi Shah, Colonel Aleem Afridi, Colonel Agha Javed Iqbal, Lt Col Khursheed, and other officers and told them that they owed it to Pakistan to get rid of the discredited junta and hand over power to the elected civilian representatives.[29][30]
All officers present, agreed. However, there was a problem as Maj Gen Bashir "Ranghar", Major General R.D. Shamim, and Major General "Bachoo" Karim were in Gujranwala and had the authority to counter F.B. Ali's orders.
On 19 December 1971, F.B. Ali arrested the three generals and seized command of Major General "Bachoo" Karim's
Earlier in the day, during an address by General Abdul Hamid Khan in Gujranwala, young officers, led by Brigadier Fazal-e-Rasiq Khan, unleashed a barrage of insults in English, Urdu, and Punjabi towards Abdul Hamid, Yahya Khan, and other superiors. They called them "bloody bastards," "debauches," and "drunkards," expressing their deep frustration.[29]
Abdul Hamid Khan was rushed out of the auditorium and sought advice from
Meanwhile, the reports of near mutiny in Gujranwala prompted Gul Hassan Khan and Air Marshal Abdur Rahim Khan to go to Yahya Khan, telling him to resign. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was invited by Abdur Rahim Khan and Gul Hassan Khan from Rome to assume leadership, leading to him becoming the fourth President of Pakistan.[31]
Hamoodur Rahman Commission
While Gul Hassan was not part of the Bangladesh genocide, a witness mentioned him in the Hamoodur Rahman Commission report. During visits to East Pakistan, he would ask soldiers how many Bengalis they had shot.[32]
Controversy
Despite there being no other mention of Gul Hassan's role in the Bengali genocide, Bengali Dr. A.H. Jaffor Ullah believes Gul Hassan did play a role, though not as the main actor. While Dr. Jaffor Ullah acknowledges that Gul Hassan was not the one who directly executed orders as Lt. Gen. Tikka Khan was the trigger man, Dr. Jaffor Ullah argues that Gul Hassan provided intellectual support and leadership, contributing to the genocide's occurrence.[33]
C-in-C of the Pakistan Army
After Zulfikar Ali Bhutto arrived in Pakistan from Rome on the jet that Abdur Rahim Khan sent for him, Bhutto called Gul Hassan to take over the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, which Gul Hassan refused citing the fact that the army had been demoralized from the defeat.[34][35][36]
However, in a meeting at the Punjab House with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Gul Hassan gave Bhutto four conditions: 1. He wanted to remain a Lieutenant General, even though the C-in-C was traditionally a four-star General. 2. Bhutto had to organize the withdrawal of troops from the border. 3. Martial Law had to be lifted. 4. Bhutto would not meddle in the operations of the Pakistan Army.[34][37]
Bhutto accepted and on 20 December 1971 in a televised address to the nation stated:[31][38]
ADDRESS
PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN ZULFIKAR ALI BHUTTOI have asked General Gul Hassan to be acting Commander-in-Chief. He is a professional soldier. I do not think he has dabbled in politics and I think he has the respect and support of the Armed Forces... but he will retain the rank of lieutenant general. We are not going to make unnecessary promotions. We are a poor country. We are not going to unnecessarily fatten people.
The next day, Gul Hassan rang up President Bhutto and asked why he had lied that it was his decision to keep Gul Hassan as a Lt Gen, as if Gul Hassan had not chosen to remain as Lt Gen as one of his conditions for accepting the post. Bhutto responded by saying the Commander-in-Chief did not grasp politics well and missed the point. Despite Gul Hassan's request to keep politics out of their dealings, Bhutto persisted. Days later, Bhutto asked if Gul Hassan had watched the Dhaka surrender film, inviting him to view it. Gul Hassan refused, feeling that Bhutto, now the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, was aggravating wounds instead of healing them. Gul Hassan later discovered Bhutto had brought the film from abroad and aired it on national television repeatedly until public outcry halted it.
Bhutto later wanted to join the new C-in-C on a troop tour, but Gul Hassan refused. He feared that Bhutto, a skilled public speaker, would twist the situation to suggest Gul Hassan lacked courage. Gul Hassan believed Bhutto would win politically either way, making him appear weak or overshadow Gul Hassan's authority.[39]
As
Resignation
Gul Hassan and Abdur Rahim Khan refused Bhutto's request of sending in the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Air Force to end a strike of police officers protesting for pay increase. They believed that their forces should be kept out of political matters and the civilian leadership should deal with it. Bhutto termed the police strike as a mutiny and removed the two from their positions for not following his illegal orders. Tikka Khan and Zafar Chaudhry took over the newly created roles of Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Air Staff.[42][43][37][44][45]
Diplomatic career
Khan was appointed as Pakistan's ambassador to Austria by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on 26 May 1972.[46][47][48]Zulfikar Ali Bhutto designated Gul Hassan as Ambassador of Pakistan to Greece in April 1975.[49]
On 15 April 1977, in a letter of resignation, Gul Hassan condemned Bhutto's leadership and called him a traitor for his role in the loss of East Pakistan. Gul Hassan further accused him of failing the people of Pakistan, causing chaos and violence in the country, exploiting the nation for personal gain, and rigging the 1977 Pakistani general election. Afterwards, the Government of Pakistan alongside the Federal Investigation Agency filed an FIR against Gul Hassan for "hatred or contempt and inciting disaffection towards the Government."[40][50]
Later life and death
Gul Hassan lived a quiet life and had not acquired wealth unlike other generals of the army. He resided in two rooms of the
Gul Hassan Khan died on 10 October 1999 and was buried in Pabbi in Nowshera District (Main town of Chirrat Cant, Chowki Mumriaz, Taroo Jaba, Akber Pura). Prior to his death, Gul Hassan had a small amount of money in his bank account and instructed that his burial cloth be brought with it.[13]
Books
Khan, Gul Hassan (1993). Memoirs of Lt. Gen. Gul Hassan Khan. Oxford University Press.
Awards and decorations
Parachutist Badge
| |||
Sitara-e-Pakistan
(Star of Pakistan) (SPk) |
Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam
(SQA) | ||
Tamgha-e-Diffa
(General Service Medal) 1. 2. |
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 |
Burma Star | War Medal | Queen Elizabeth II
(1953) |
Foreign decorations
Foreign Awards | ||
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UK | Burma Star | |
War Medal 1939-1945 | ||
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal |
See also
- Air Marshal Abdur Rahim Khan
- General Sahabzada Yaqub Khan
- General Musa Khan
- General Rao Farman Ali
- General Mitha
References
- ISBN 978-4-13-036051-7.
- ^ a b c d "Notable Graduates of the College". Command and Staff College, Quetta, Pakistan. Archived from the original on 27 July 2017.
- ^ "Sahabzada Yaqub and Gul Hassan: A Study in Contrast". 10 April 2020.
- ^ "Ex Pakistan Army Chiefs". Archived from the original on 12 December 2023.
- ^ "Late Gen. Gul Hasan A Trainer of Men With A Difference". 1 February 2000. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016.
- ^ "General Gul Hassan profile". Archived from the original on 7 May 2017.
- ISBN 9781490735948. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ^ ISBN 9781442241480.
- ^ "Rediff on the NeT: An interview with General Gul Hassan Khan, the former Pakistani army chief". Rediff. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ^ Where Gallantry is Tradition. 1997. pp. 124–130.
- ^ ISBN 9781482814767.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-577447-4.
- ^ a b c d "Remembering Lt Gen Gul Hasan". March 2000. Archived from the original on 21 June 2006.
- ^ Khan, Gul Hassan. Memoirs of Lt. Gen. Gul Hassan Khan. Oxford University Press. p. 438.
- ISBN 978-0-19-577447-4.
- ^ Memoirs of Lt. Gen. Gul Hassan Khan. Oxford University Press. 1993. p. 9.
- ^ Pakistan's Wars An Alternative History. 2022.
- ^ Memoirs of Lt. Gen. Gul Hassan Khan. 1993. p. 84.
- ISBN 9788132103370.
- ^ "COLONEL COMMANDANTS - CORPS OF ENGINEERS". Archived from the original on 25 December 2019.
- ^ The Army List Parts 1-2. H.M. Stationery Office. p. 99.
- ISBN 9788132104773.
- ISBN 978-0-19-579413-7.
- ^ Newspaper, the (25 August 2016). "Zia: A Counter-view". Dawn. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ^ A History of the Pakistan Army Wars and Insurrections. 2016.
- ^ Women on the March. Vol. 17.
- ^ "Lt-Gen Gul Hassan's memoirs — inside the GHQ during the 1971 War". 10 October 2018.
- ^ Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate Covert Action and Internal Operations. 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Brigadier Farrukh Bakht Ali". 10 March 2021.
- ^ The History of British Diplomacy in Pakistan. 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-62636-868-2.
- ^ Extremely Violent Societies Mass Violence in the Twentieth-Century World. 2010. p. 377.
- ^ Ullah, A. H. Jaffor. "The diabolical role Lt. Gen. Gul Hassan Khan played during 1971". Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ ISBN 9780190613303. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ^ "Bhutto Picks Up The Pieces of Pakistan". 25 June 1972.
- ^ "TN BHUTTO ENVOYS ASSAIL HIS ACTIONS". 16 April 1977.
- ^ ISBN 9789693511482. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ^ Pakistan Affairs. Vol. 22–25. 1971.
- ^ "Zulfikar Ali Bhutto; Politics of Charisma".
- ^ a b "TN BHUTTO ENVOYS ASSAIL HIS ACTIONS". The New York Times. 16 April 1977. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ^ ISBN 9781317196099. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-429-72337-7.
- ISBN 978-1-136-33696-6.
- ^ "A leaf from history: Reshuffle in the armed forces". 8 July 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-5267-8861-0.
- ^ "Ambassadors of Pakistan to Austria".
- ISBN 978-0-19-577447-4.
- ISBN 978-81-7023-649-8.
- ^ "Ambassadors of Pakistan - Athens, Greece". Embassy of Pakistan, Athens. 2020. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ^ "FIR Lodged Against General (Rd) Gul Hassan".
- ^ "Benazir talks rubbish. She is highly immature and so was her father". 19 March 1997.