A. A. K. Niazi

Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi
File:General A. A. Niazi.jpg Lieutenant-General A. A. Niazi, PA.
Birth name	Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi
Nickname(s)	Tiger
Born	1915 Lahore, Punjab Province, British India
Died	2 February 2004 (aged 89) Lahore, Punjab province
Allegiance	Pakistan British India
Service/branch	Pakistan Army British Indian Army
Years of service	1932-1972
Rank	Lieutenant-General (stripped off from his rank)
Service number	(PA –477)
Unit	5th Airborne, Punjab Regiment
Commands held	Eastern Military High Command Martial-Law Administrator East-Pakistan 5th Airborne, Punjab Regiment 14th Paratrooper Brigade Unified MLA of Karachi and Lahore 52nd Mechanized Division 50th Airborne Division, Pakistan Army
Battles/wars	Burma Campaign of 1944 Battle of Imphal Battle of Chawinda Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Operation Searchlight Pakistan war in Bangladesh
Awards	Hilal-i-Jurat (military) (stripped off and withdraw) Military Cross
Other work	Author

Lieutenant-General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi HJ, MC ,(Urdu: امیر عبداللہ خان نیازی); c. 1915 - 2 February 2004), was a former 3 star rank general in the Pakistan Army who was the last unified commander of Pakistan Armed Forces's Eastern Military High Command in the East-Pakistan. General Niazi, in 1971, was in charge of Eastern contingent of the Pakistan Armed Forces during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War and Bangladesh Liberation War, alongside with Vice-Admiral Mohammad Shariff, Commander of Eastern Naval Command.

Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, a lieutenant-general, is held responsible by some within the Pakistan High Military Command for having surrendered his unified combatant forces of nearly 93,000 men to the Indian Armed Forces and the guerrilla armed resistance force, the Mukti Bahini, at a time when Indo-Bangali forces were preparing to lay siege on Dhaka and thus, bringing to close the liberation war. General Niazi had, however, always insisted that he had acted according to the orders of the West-Pakistan Military High Command, under General Yahya Khan. Following the war, Niazi was made a scapegoat and blamed for much of Pakistan's massive human rights violations in Bangladesh. General Niazi was personally indicted of smuggling and rape by the Hamoodur Rehman commission, led by Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman, and as well as the military and strategic losses during the war. He was subsequently relieved of his position in the Army by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Throughout the remainder of his life, Niazi had sought court-martial to prove his innocence, but was never charged. Filed petitions, through his military lawyers in both civilian Supreme Court and the prestigious JAG Branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Before his death, he authored the book "The Betrayal of East Pakistan".

Early life

Born in 1915 to a Ghilzai Pashtun family in the Punjab British State, British Indian Empire. In 1932, Niazi enlisted in the British Indian Army as a junior non-commission officer and was sent to Indian Military Academy where he gained B.Sc. in Military science. Niazi also did a paratrooper course while his stay at the Academy. Upon completing his training and studies, Niazi gained officiate (Second Lieutenant) commissioned in 5th Paratrooper of the Punjab Regiment in 1937. He served well Pacific Theatre of World War II.

World War

On June 11th of 1942, Niazi was sent to Kekrima area of the Assam-Burma front. That spring, Niazi was part of the 14th Army Offensive Group of the British Army, commanded by General William Joseph Slim. During this period, the 14th Army Group had halt the offense against the Japanese Imperial Army at the Battle of Imphal and elsewhere in bitterly fought actions along the Burma front. General Slim described his gallantry action as his action completely surprising the enemy. General Slim wrote a lengthy report the GHQ India about his judgment about the best course of action, which they accepted, his skill in taking the enemy completely by surprise, as well as his personal leadership of his men, coolness under fire, ability to change tactics, create diversions, extricate his wounded and withdraw his men. At the Burmese front, Niazi impressed his commanding officers when as Lieutenant, commanded a platoon that initiated an offense against the Japanese Imperial Army at the Bauthi-Daung tunnels.

His gallantry action had impressed the GHQ India that wanted to decorated him with gained him the Distinguished Service Order, however, Niazi was too junior to received such decoration. During the front, Niazi gained the title "Tiger" which was given him by Brigadier D.F.W. Warren, Commanding officer of the 161th Infantry Division of the British Army, after he took final participation in a ferocious fight with the Japanese. After the conflict, the young Lieutenant Niazi was decorated with a Military Cross by the British Government. His Military Cross was earned for actions along the border with Burma, in which he showed great leadership, judgement, quick-thinking, and calmness under pressure.

The British Government honoured Niazi for "personal leadership, bravery and complete disregard for his own personal safety". On 15 December 1944, the Viceroy Lord Wavell flew to Imphal and in the presence of Lord Mountbatten knighted Slim and his corps commanders Stopford, Scoones and Christison. Only two Indian officers were chosen to be decorated by the Viceroy at that ceremony — ‘Tiger’ Niazi was one of them.Bose, Sarmila (15 November 2010). "Sarmila Bose on events of 1971" (HTML). Sarmila Bose. Sarmila Bose at the Times of Bombay. Retrieved 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)</ref>

Niazi between the wars

Niazi opted the Pakistan's citizenship and joined the newly-formed Pakistan Army after the Indian partition in 1947. Niazi quickly rose through the ranks, earning various awards including the Hilal-i-Jurat twice.

In 1965, as Colonel and commanding officer of the 5th Paratrooper, Punjab Regiment, activily participated in Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. During the conflict, Niazi was promoted 1-star rank general and as Brigadier-General, Niazi commanded the 14th Paratrooper Brigade, 50th Airborne Division during operations in Kashmir and Sialkot. The 14th Paratrooper Brigade and General Niazi gained international fame after the success of the Chawinda counter-offense. The counter offense resulted in ultimate success and halted the Indian Army troop rotation further inside Pakistan. After the war, General Niazi was made Martial Law Administrator of both Karachi and Lahore. In 1968, Niazi was promoted to 2 star rank Major-General and was made GOC of the 52nd Mechanized Division based in Karachi during this period. In 1970, Niazi commanded the 50th Airborne Division and by 1971, Niazi had reached the rank of 3 star rank of Lieutenant-General in the Pakistan Army.

East Pakistan

In April 1971, Lieutenant-General Amir Abdullah Khan Nazi was sent to East-Pakistan, following a Pakistani military crackdown on Bengali intellectuals. Niazi himself volunteered for the job of military commander of East Pakistan, when many other officers of Pakistan Army were cautious on the posting. As he was sent, Niazi replaces Vice-Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan as the Martial Law Administrator of the region, and became the commander of the Eastern Military Commander. Because of the magnitude of the assignment, the Pakistan High Military Commander promoted Rear-Admiral Mohammad Shariff to Vice-Admiral, and posted him as Second-in-Command of the Eastern Military Command of the Pakistan. The Commanding officer in East Pakistan at that time, General Tikka Khan, was thought to be behind the implementation of the crackdown. The situation in East-Pakistan was extremely difficult, as Bengali forces in the Pakistani Army had gone into mutiny, large segments of the population were hostile, and an independence movement was gaining steam among the Bengalis. Despite this, Niazi and Mohammad Shariff were able to reaffirm Pakistan's control over wide parts of East Pakistan territory, opening the window for a political solution to the turmoil - this would not come to fruition.

There is no evidence that General Niazi really condemned the crackdown of 25 March 1971, dubbed Operation Searchlight ordered by Tikka Khan and Operation Barisal ordered by Admiral Mohammad Shariff. It was only after returning to Pakistan as empty-handed prisoner of war did Niazi criticize Tikka and Rao Farman. Niazi himself admitted that he raised the Razakar forces, who were employed against the Mukti Bahini (guerilla forces) and were used to kill, terrorize people and destroy rural villages. His vows against the Indian Army and Mukti Bahini were notorious. The crackdown against the Bengalis had gone too far, and the result saw Pakistan Combatant forces involved in a guerrilla war with the Bengali Mukti Bahini, under C-in-C General Osmany, Bangladesh Forces. The Pakistan Combatant Forces were unprepared and untrained for such warfare, and they [Pakistan Armed Forces] were highly incompetent to reverse such attacks. After a preemptive strike on the Indian territories in the western front, a full-scale invasion of East Pakistan by India resulted in isolation for Niazi's and Shariff's forces being ambushed by the Mukti Bahini, and with the absence of external aid, eventual surrender.

Surrender

On 16 December 1971, General Niazi surrendered the 93,000 Pakistan Armed forces in East Pakistan to his counterpart Lieutenant General Jagjit Singh Aurora, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces and the Mukti Bahini Allied Forces just after 1,300 casualties from the Pakistani side. General Niazi signed the instrument of surrender resulting in his surrender along with a sizable number of Pakistan Armed Forces personnel and intelligence civilians officers who were taken prisoners (upwards of 93,000 including about 34000 regular army soldiers). This was the largest number of POWs since World War II and included some senior government officials. Most would remain in captivity for more than three years after the conflict ended as they were to be tried for crimes such as rape and murder of the Bengali populace. General Niazi was symbolically the last prisoner of war to cross back to Pakistan, after Prime minister Bhutto signed a treaty with his counter-part Indira Gandhi, Indian Premier. Such actions symbolized his reputation as a "soldier's general" but did not shield him from the scorn he faced upon his return to Pakistan, where he was made a scapegoat for the surrender. Upon his return, Bhutto stripped Niazi's military rank, and the pension usually accorded to retired soldiers. Bhutto also strip his military decorations and humiliated while he was given discharge from his service.

Later life

The Hamoodur Rahman Commission, led and investigated by Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman of Supreme Court — reportedly revealed that Niazi was guilty of several misconducts during his tenure as martial law administrator in East Pakistan. It confirmed that the General was indulging in paan (chewing tobacco) smuggling from East to West-Pakistan and sexual excesses, including, possibly rape as stated by witnesses. In order to clear his name, Niazi sought a court martial from JAG Branch, but it was never granted. The former general would try to take up politics in order to clear himself, but he was jailed in order to quell such actions. In 1998 he released The Betrayal of East Pakistan where he blamed Yahya Khan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto for the separation of East Pakistan. Niazi did not accept Hamoodur Rahman report as he believed that it was prepared by one of the guilty parties (Bhutto) and that it was no alternative to a court-martial, where accused persons are allowed to defend themselves, bring in witnesses, cross examine etc. Niazi claimed that a court-martial would have brought out the names of those who later rose to unthinkable heights, as it is easier to find one scapegoat who would help spare dozens (just as others have made similar claims in relation to the treatment of Dr. A.Q. Khan.) Niazi lived out his life in Lahore, his wife predeceasing him.

Legacy

Niazi’s reputation as a “soldier’s general” lasted to the end. He was let down in 1971 by the Pakistan's Higher Command (both political and military) and was subsequently victimized in the fallout from the war. 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."[2] 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". 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”.

Further reading

• Raja, Dewan Mohammad Tasawwar (2010). O GENERAL MY GENERAL (Life and Works of General M A G Osmany). The Osmany Memorial Trust. {{cite book}}: Text "ISBN 978-984-8866-18-4" ignored (help)

External links

• Op-ed: The courageous Pak army stand on the eastern front by Sarmila Bose 24 November 2003 - Daily Times
• Pakistan: Independence and Military Succession
• Video of Surrender By General Niazi, A. A. K.
• Lt. Gen A.A.K. Niazi