| Gul Hassan Khan | |
|---|---|
lieutenant-general Gul Hassan Khan
| |
| Birth name | Gul Hassan Khan |
| Born | 1921 Quetta, Balochistan, British India (Present-day Pakistan) |
| Died | October 10, 1999 (aged 77–78) |
| Buried | Pabbi, Nowshera District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan |
| Allegiance |  Pakistan |
| Service/ |  Pakistan Army |
| Years of service | 1933–1972 |
| Rank |   Lieutenant-General(Stripped from rank) |
| Service number | PA-457 |
| Unit | Armoured Corps |
| Commands held | Commander-in-Chief, Pakistan Army Chief of General Staff (CGS) 1 Armoured Division Directorate for Military Operations |
| Battles/wars | Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 |
| Awards | Star of Pakistan (Withdrawn) |
| Other work | Author |
He was court-martialed in light of the Hamoodur Rahman Commission and tried by the Judge Advocate General who withdraw his military honors, relieved him of his command and denied him his pension. He was succeeded by Tikka Khan who was promoted as four-star rank and designated as the Chief of Army Staff.
Biography
Early life and military career
Gul Hassan Khan was born in Quetta, Balochistan, British India into a middle class Pashtun family in 1921. In 1939, he was admitted and joined the Royal Indian Military College in Dehradun and moved to the Indian Military Academy at Dehra Dun to graduate from there in 1942. He was an excellent Hockey player and gained fame as boxer at the Military Academy.
He was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant in Frontier Force Regiment (FF Regiment) and posted in Army GHQ in New Delhi.He was later stationed in Assam with Assam Rifles and participated in Burma Campaign in 1944–45 on the side of the Great Britain.:236–237 During World War II, he selected to serve as Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to Viscount Slim who commanded the 14th Army. He was promoted to two-star rank and elevated as Major-General in the army.
During the war with India in 1965, he was Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) and directed military operations against the Indian Army His actions of valor won him the nomination of prestigious Sitara-e-Pakistanby the President. In 1967, he was made GOC of the 1st Armoured Division of the Armoured Corps stationed in Multan, Punjab. In 1969, he was promoted to three-star rank as lieutenant-general and subsequently was theChief of General Staff (CGS) at the Army GHQ.
Role in 1971 Black September
According to the testimonies provided by Major-General A.O. Mitha, it was Gul Hasan's lobbying at the Army GHQ who also saved then Brigadier Zia-ul-Haq (Chief of Pakistan military mission) from being terminated. Brigadier Zia who was in Jordan in 1971 was requested to be court-martial from Major-General Nawazish to PresidentYahya Khan for disobeying GHQ orders by commanding a Jordanian armoured division against the Palestinians, as part of actions in which thousands were killed.That event is known as "Operation Black September". It was Gul Hasan who interceded for Zia and Yahya Khan let Zia off the hook.
According to the testimonies provided by Major-General A.O. Mitha, it was Gul Hasan's lobbying at the Army GHQ who also saved then Brigadier Zia-ul-Haq (Chief of Pakistan military mission) from being terminated. Brigadier Zia who was in Jordan in 1971 was requested to be court-martial from Major-General Nawazish to PresidentYahya Khan for disobeying GHQ orders by commanding a Jordanian armoured division against the Palestinians, as part of actions in which thousands were killed.That event is known as "Operation Black September". It was Gul Hasan who interceded for Zia and Yahya Khan let Zia off the hook.
1971 war and Bangladesh
In 1971, he was the Chief of General Staff at the Army GHQ and allegedly either executed or approved military operations in East Pakistan. As CGS of Pakistan Army, he was heading the military operations and intelligence during this period. It is also alleged that he was the "intellectual planner" of Pakistan Army's crackdown in the East and that he preferred a military solution of the political crisis looming over the horizon of Pakistan during 1971. He lacked foresight as was viewed by some of his colleagues in Pakistan Army as "short on strategic vision but good as field commander".
He, along with Air Marshal A.R. Khan, played a crucial role in forcing President Yahya Khan to step down from the presidency.
In 1971, he was the Chief of General Staff at the Army GHQ and allegedly either executed or approved military operations in East Pakistan. As CGS of Pakistan Army, he was heading the military operations and intelligence during this period. It is also alleged that he was the "intellectual planner" of Pakistan Army's crackdown in the East and that he preferred a military solution of the political crisis looming over the horizon of Pakistan during 1971. He lacked foresight as was viewed by some of his colleagues in Pakistan Army as "short on strategic vision but good as field commander".
He, along with Air Marshal A.R. Khan, played a crucial role in forcing President Yahya Khan to step down from the presidency.
Army Commander (1971–72)
After the 1971 war which ended with unilateral surrender to India, President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto called Lieutenant-General Gul Hassan to take over the post of Commander in Chief of Pakistan Army, which he refused. However, he reluctantly accepted the post on several of his set conditions and took over the command of Pakistan Army.In controversy, Khan was avoided to be promoted the four-star rank as opposed to his predecessors, by Bhutto. Initially, he provided his support to President Bhutto but began obstructing the hearings of Hamoodur Rahman Commission.[16] Reports were surfacing that Gul Hassan Khan, alongside with Air Marshal A.R. Khan, were interfering in state's affairs and influencing on Hamoodur Rahman Commission.
As Army Commander-in-Chief, he lessened the role and value of the Inter–Services Intelligence which lost its importance throughout this time, and the new Army Commander did not pay any attention to ISI as he relied on Intelligence Buurea (IB) instead.The ISI's covert operations were never revealed to him and Khan was reluctant and incompetent commander to control the ISI; instead the ISI began directly reporting to President Bhutto.
In 1972, the Hamoodur Rahman Commission implicated him for his role in atrocities committed in East Pakistan which eventually led towards his termination. Upon approval of his termination papers, the Governor of Punjab Ghulam Mustafa Khar allegedly huddled up in a car and taken to Lahore.Khan's alleged involvement and his controversial approvals of military operations during 1971 in East Pakistan created a public resentment towards him, as he was the Director-General of the Director-general for the Military Operations (DGMO). When it was cleared by Hamoodur Rahman Commission, led by Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman, Bhutto fired Khan as Army Commander-in-Chief and appointed General Tikka Khan instead.
As Army Commander-in-Chief, he lessened the role and value of the Inter–Services Intelligence which lost its importance throughout this time, and the new Army Commander did not pay any attention to ISI as he relied on Intelligence Buurea (IB) instead.The ISI's covert operations were never revealed to him and Khan was reluctant and incompetent commander to control the ISI; instead the ISI began directly reporting to President Bhutto.
In 1972, the Hamoodur Rahman Commission implicated him for his role in atrocities committed in East Pakistan which eventually led towards his termination. Upon approval of his termination papers, the Governor of Punjab Ghulam Mustafa Khar allegedly huddled up in a car and taken to Lahore.Khan's alleged involvement and his controversial approvals of military operations during 1971 in East Pakistan created a public resentment towards him, as he was the Director-General of the Director-general for the Military Operations (DGMO). When it was cleared by Hamoodur Rahman Commission, led by Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman, Bhutto fired Khan as Army Commander-in-Chief and appointed General Tikka Khan instead.
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