General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (February 4, 1917 - August 10, 1980) was the fifth Chief of Army Staff and the third President of Pakistan. During his presidency, President Ayub Khan appointed him Chief of Army Staff in 1966. After the resignation of Ayub Khan in 1969, he took over the presidency. Both these posts of Yahya Khan came to an end after the fall of Dhaka on December 20, 1971, after which he was detained for a long time.
Early life:
Born in 1917 in Chakwal, Punjab. He was the sixth of seven siblings. He also had a brother Agha Muhammad Ali and five sisters named Hasina Bibi, Hamida Bibi, Hamita Bibi, Wafa Bibi and Akhtar Bibi.
According to Yahya Khan's son Ali Yahya, his ancestors came to the
subcontinent via Afghanistan 200 years ago and settled in Peshawar. Yahya
Khan's family belongs to the Qazlbash caste. Father Khan Bahadur Agha Saadat
Ali Khan was a senior officer in the Indian Police.
After completing his primary education in Gujarat, he graduated from Punjab University. After that he went to Indian Military Academy Dera Dun. Received commission in the Army in 1938. Served on several fronts during World War II. After completing the course from Command and Staff College Quetta in 1945, he remained in various staff positions. After that General Yahya Khan became an instructor in Staff College Quetta.
After the formation of Pakistan, he held high
positions in various Divisional Headquarters and General Headquarters. In 1962,
he was appointed as the Garrison Officer Commanding of East Pakistan. Hilal
Juraat was awarded for outstanding services in the Pak-India war of September
1965. On the retirement of General Muhammad Musa Khan in September 1966, he was
appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.
Second Martial Law:
After the war of 1965, the students started a
movement against the Tashkent Agreement which intensified and gradually took
the form of a force against Ayub Khan but was later suppressed by force. After
taking over the Foreign Ministry, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto founded the PPP and took
full advantage of the anti-Ayub sentiments among the people. In 1966, Sheikh
Mujibur Rehman of the Awami League, a political party in East Pakistan, made a
six-point demand. These points have been sharply criticized in West Pakistan,
both politically and publicly, and have been equated with separatism.
Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was later arrested. In
West Pakistan, however, the movement against Ayub Khan gained momentum and the
law and order situation deteriorated.
In November 1968, the United Front of
Opposition Parties launched a movement for the restoration of democracy in the
country, which took the form of bloody riots. By March 1969, Ayub Khan's power
over the government had waned. On March 23, 1969, Yahya Khan finalized the
preparations for the overthrow of Ayub Khan's government and gave necessary
instructions to the corps commanders. On March 25, 1969, Ayub Khan, in his
address to the nation, announced his resignation from power, after which Yahya
Khan announced the imposition of regular martial law and called for general
elections next year. On June 30, 1970, the provincial status of NWFP and
Balochistan was restored.
The former state of Bahawalpur was added to
Punjab and Karachi to Sindh. And the Malakand Agency was formed by merging the
former border states of Swat, Dir and Chitral.
Elections to the National Assembly were held on September 7, 1970 and to the Provincial Assemblies on December 17. Which domestic and foreign observers called the first free and fair elections in the history of Pakistan. On December 16, 1971, the occupation of East Pakistan by Indian forces and the unsatisfactory performance of Pakistani forces on the West Pakistan front led to anti-military protests in the country. On December 20, 1971, General Yahya handed over power to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Chairman of the People's Party. He was arrested on January 8, 1972, to save him from public outrage. He was released in July 1977 due to ill health.
Dividing Pakistan into two parts:
Both General Yahya Khan and Zulfiqar Ali
Bhutto are blamed for the secession of East Pakistan from West Pakistan after
the 1971 war. The biggest allegation against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto has been that
he did not accept the victory of Sheikh Mujib. And intoxicated with power.
"
There you and here we "paved the way to
break the country. However, the then President and Commander-in-Chief Yahya
Khan with his wrong war strategy created a disgraceful situation in East
Pakistan after which the army had to surrender in a very embarrassing manner and
more than ninety thousand soldiers were taken prisoner by India.
However, after the end of the war, when the
Mahmood-ur-Rehman Commission was formed to interfere in the political affairs
of the army and determine its responsibilities in the war of 1971, it became
clear that besides General Yahya Khan, there was also a Lieutenant General with
Yahya Khan in his hand. Was dead and they followed his instructions. It was
Lieutenant General Abdul Hameed Khan who was the Chief of Army Staff but in
reality he was not even called the De facto Commander-in-Chief because Yahya
Khan had lost the ability to make important national decisions while indulging
in his luxuries.
General Abdul Hameed Khan had a direct
influence on the army and also used to influence national decisions. He was the
same general who had achieved victories in the 1965 war from Kasur to Khem
Karna in Indian Territory. When Yahya Khan instituted martial law, General
Abdul Hameed Khan was appointed as the Deputy Chief Martial Law Administrator.
Among them was Justice Hamoodur Rehman Commission, who had conducted a rigorous
interview and clarified his status in the war of 1971. Bhutto did not have any
illusions about General Abdul Hameed Khan, so after the war of 1971, when he
took power on December 20, 1971, the same day General
Abdul Hameed Khan was also sacked. He was also severely criticized that General
Abdul Hameed Khan Mukhtar and General Yahya Khan used to rely on General Yahya
Khan for teaching wrong bandages to him. General Abdul Hameed Khan later took a
life of anonymity and died in Lahore Cantt. No one knew that an important
figure who had divided Pakistan had passed away.
Personal life:
Yahya Khan was known as a heavy drinker and
his preference in wine was whiskey. During the reign of Yahya Khan, there was a
close friend and family friend of Aklim Akhtar who was known as General Rani.
