A. A. K. Niazi
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Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi (1915 - February 2, 2004) was a Pakistani military commander who was notable for surrendering to Indian forces in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.
Born to a Pashtun family in the Punjab, Niazi enlisted in the British Indian Army as a junior officer, and fought well during World War II. During this conflict, the young Niazi would win a Military Cross and be given the nickname "Tiger" by his superior officer due to his prowess in battle against Japanese forces. His Military Cross was earned for actions along the border with Burma, in which he showed great leadership, judgement, quick-thinking, and calm under pressure.
He would join the newly-formed Pakistani Army after independence in 1947 and quickly rose through the ranks, earning various awards including the Hilal-e-Jurat twice. By 1971 he had reached the rank of Lieutenant-General. He was sent in that year to East Pakistan in April following a Pakistani military crack down on Bengali intellectuals. The army leader in East Pakistan at that time Tikka Khan was thought to be behind the implementation of the crack down, and Niazi had condemned the action. Despite this, the situation in the East was 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 was able to reaffirm Pakistani control over wide parts of East Pakistani territory, opening the window for a political solution to the turmoil - this would not come to fruition.
The crack-down against the Bengalis had gone too far, and the result saw Pakistani forces involved in a guerrilla war with Bengali Mukti Bahini who were aided by India. This would lead to later Indian involvement in the conflict, and a full-scale invasion of the Eastern wing of Pakistan by India, resulting in isolation for Niazi's forces, and with the absence of external aid, eventual surrender.
On December 16, 1971, General Niazi surrendered all Pakistani forces in East Pakistan to Indian General Jagjit Singh Aurora. Niazi along with a sizeable number of Pakistani soldiers were taken prisoner (upwards of 90,000). This was the largest number of POWs since WWII and included some government officials. Many would not be freed until two years later, with Niazi symbolically being the last prisoner of war to cross back to Pakistan. 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 humiliating defeat to arch rival India.
Niazi was stripped of his military rank, and the pension usually accorded to retired soldiers. In order to clear his name, Niazi sought a court martial, 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 lived out his life in Lahore, his wife predeceasing him.
See also
- Lieutenant General Gul Hassan Khan
- Lieutenant General Sahabzada Yaqub Khan
- Major General Osman Mitha
- Major General Rao Farman Ali
- General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan
- General Jagjit Singh Aurora
External links
- [Pakistan: Independence and Military Succession]
- [Video of Surrender By General Niazi, A. A. K.]
- [Lt.Gen A.A.K. Niazi]
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