Syed Mohammad Ahsan

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Ayub Khan
Preceded byV.Adm A.R. Khan
Succeeded byV.Adm Muzaffar Hassan
Chairman of the National Shipping Corporation
In office
1975–1976
Personal details
Born
Syed Mohammad Ahsan

December 1920
Military Advisor East-Pakistan military
Battles/wars
Military awards Distinguished Service Cross
Legion of Merit
Medalha de Mérito Militar

Ayub Khan
from 1966 until 1969.

After that, he briefly served in President

Naval Intelligence and modernising the navy.[6][7]

He was a trusted colleague of President Ayub Khan while attending the

Governor of East Pakistan while serving as a cabinet minister in the Yahya administration.[5]

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]

Early life

Ahsan was born in

Royal Indian Merchant Navy.[1][8][9]

Naval career

Early career

In 1938, Ahsan was accepted to join the Britannia Royal Naval College in United Kingdom where he was trained, and after a short probationary period in Royal Navy, he was given commission as Lieutenant in Executive Branch of the Royal Indian Navy.[1][10] He specialized in Signals and was an instructor at the Combined Cadet Force in Liverpool, England.[1][8]

World War II

During

Arakan Campaign in 1942–43 and later served well in the Mediterranean theatre in 1944–45.[1] His actions of valor earned him to be decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross by the United Kingdom after the end of World War II in 1945.[2]
: 511 

In 1946, he was appointed as aide-de-camp to Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten and assisted him in cabinet meetings to resolve political crises in the British Indian Empire.[11]: 169–170 

Post-Independence

When the United Kingdom

opt for Pakistan and was introduced by Lord Mountbatten to Muhammad Ali Jinnah as his aide-de-camp.[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 the

Kashmir crises in 1947.[10]

On 30 September 1949, he witnessed the commissioning of the

Commander in 1950.[16] He participated in Task Force 92 alongside Commander A.R. Khan who commanded the Tippu Sultan and made a first goodwill visit to Malta, Middle East and Eastern Europe.[16] In 1951, he commanded the PNS Tughril which became a part of the 25th Destroyer.[16]

His first assignment included his role as Deputy Director of

Navy NHQ while establishing his intelligence department.[17]

At December 1952, he was asked by the

Navy Commander in Chief.[17]

In 1955–56, he was posted to the

naval attaché.[1] During this time, he went to attend the Naval War College in Newport in Rhode Island, graduated with a staff course degree from the College of Naval Command and Staff of the Naval War College.[3]

In 1957, he was promoted as

cruiser warship, the PNS Babur, that sailed in Karachi the following year.[18]
: 55 

In 1960, he was promoted to the

one-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 of Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in Bangkok and later became its chief military officer.[1]

Flag rank

In 1962, he was promoted as

riverine tactics with the absence of the strong naval presence.[18]: 61–62  During this time, he became the principal military 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 on 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 the riots in 1964 despite the calls.[5][20]

In 1965, he was stationed back to Pakistan and assumed the command of Naval Intelligence as its

naval offense in Dwarka and partially leading the fleet as its Commander.[21] The operation met with mixed results but it stopped the Indian 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]

Commander-in-Chief

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,

Sitara-e-Pakistan by President Ayub.[23][24]

As a naval chief, he oversaw the induction of the

Daphné submarines procured from France in 1966 in navy's submarine branch.[7]

Since 1966–68, Admiral Ahsan knew of Indian Navy massive

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 in acquiring the missile boats only, and permissions were granted to procured the Soviet-built Osa-class missile boat in 1968.[25]
: 106–107 

He led series of unsuccessful talks with the

Navy NHQ staff tussle with the Finance ministry over the issues of budget and financial support for modernization of navy without any success.[18]
: 64 

He established the

special operations.[18]
: 64 

In 1966, he further accepted the recommendation from

U.S. Navy SEALs.[6]

In Karachi, he went on to commission the

Board of Governors of Cadet College Petaro.[27]

Vice-Admiral Ahsan is also credited with founding Port Qasim – Pakistan's second port – after exploring the coast around Phitti Creek, when he was Chief of Naval Staff.[28] He immediately met with then–Foreign Minister Zulfikar 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.

PNS 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 the Awami League's military wing– the Mukti Bahini.[18]
: 64 

Political career

Yahya administration and governorship

See also: Evolution of Pakistan Eastern Command plan, East Pakistan, and Admiral Ahsan Mission

After President

naval command to Admiral Muzaffar Hassan to be appointed as deputy CMLA under Yahya administration.[29]

In August 1969, he joined the Yahya administration as

industry, and planning commission.[30] However, this was short-lived and Admiral Ahsan was appointed as Governor of East Pakistan on 1 September 1969.[31]: 539 [32]

The assignment was considered very difficult by the

Major-General Muzaffaruddin in East Pakistan.[citation needed
]

In the Cabinet meeting, President Yahya was told that the situation in East is at a critical, and his government needed an administrator with a good reputation in the province.

Dhaka 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 Marshal Nur Khan, over the issues of legal and political reforms in the country while President Yahya was in conflict with his army chief Lieutenant-General Abdul 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 the six-point were not new.[36]: 84  In 1969, he paid a state visit to the United States to meet with Elliot 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 the Governor's House, Dhaka to strengthened military relations with the United States.[11]: 188–191 [self-published source?]

In 1970, his government coordinated efforts to rehabilitate the infrastructure after the deadly cyclone and used the military coordinate to relief operations after meeting with President Yahya who had instruct him to "take charge".[38]: 33 [39]

1970 general elections, resignation and 1971 war

Main articles:
1971 Indo-Pakistani War

In 1970, he oversaw the electoral process to hold the nationwide

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led by Zulfikar 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 postpone of the power ceremony, Kamal Hossain reportedly notified Admiral Ahsan of "danger" of delaying the power transition.[41]
: 65 

Ahsan and Lieutenant-General Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, the martial law administrator for East Pakistan, repeatedly argued to President Yahya that military 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 the

being humiliated.[43] Known as the Ahsan 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.[44]

He participated in the

war ended in the winter of 1971.[44]

In an article titled "A nation's shame" published in the Newsline 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.

War Enquiry Commission

Main article: Hamoodur Rahman Commission

He welcomed the formation of the War Enquiry Commission that was to be chaired by Chief Justice Hamoodur 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 of militarism 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 the

Pakistani 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]

Post-retirement

Ahsan retired from the Navy in late 1971.[2]: 511  He was appointed chairman of Port Qasim Authority in 1972 and later chairman of National 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]

Death and legacy

Ahsan died in August 1989.[48]

In 1990, the Pakistan Navy established a naval base in Balochistan and commissioned in 1991 as PNS Ahsan to honor his services.[49]

The main channel of the Port Qasim bears his name, as it known as Ahsan Channel, which was inaugurated by Prime minister Benazir Bhutto who acknowledged Admiral Ahsan's as the founder of Port Qasim at a speech on the occasion of the opening of a new terminal at Port Qasim on 4 August 1989.[50]

See also

References

  1. ^
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  2. ^
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  3. ^ a b "PNS Ahsan - Ormara". wikimapia.org. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  4. ^ SEATO News-bulletin. SEATO Office of Public Information. 1960. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  5. ^
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  6. ^ a b "Navy Special Forces". Global Security.org. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  7. ^ a b "Power of Deep: The PNS Hangor". Pakistan Navy. Naval Directorate of Inter-Services Public Relations (Naval ISPR). Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  8. ^ a b Staff. "Bangabhaban– The President House of Bangladesh". bangabhaban.gov.bd. BD Government. Archived from the original on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  9. ^ Cowasjee, Ardeshir (25 September 2005). "Sayeed of Singapore". Dawn. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
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External links

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 of East Pakistan
1969–1971 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
N M Uqaili
Finance Minister of Pakistan

1969 		Succeeded by
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