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Lieutenant General Gul Hassan Khan SPk SQA (Urdu: گل حسن خان; 9 June 1921 – 10 October 1999) known secretly as George, was a three-star rank Pakistan Army general and diplomat who served as the 6th and last Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, serving from 20 December 1971 until 3 March 1972, the shortest tenure. Gul Hassan resigned along with Abdur Rahim Khan after they refused Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's request to use their forces to end a police strike protesting for a pay increase against Bhutto's government.
Gul Hassan held the positions of ADCtoCameron Nicholson, General Viscount Slim, and Governor-General of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Directing Staff Command and Staff College Quetta, Commander 1 Armoured Division, Chief of General Staff, Director Military Operations, and Commander 100 Independent Armoured Brigade Group.[2]
Notably, Gul Hassan was known for leading from the front. Once during training army officers, he wanted the artillery practice to mimic real war conditions. He had a bunker built at the target end of the Muzaffargarh range, which offered some security but was not completely safe, as a direct hit could destroy it. Despite the risk, Gul Hassan entered the bunker himself and instructed the gunners to fire with a narrow margin of error to test their training. He insisted that each artillery regiment take turns firing at the bunker to assess their skills. Colonel EAS Bokhari writes that "Luckily the units fired perfectly - and though Gen Gul was shaken in the bunker and came out of it with a lot of dust and fear of God in him - but he was quite safe. I have never seen any General Officer do this and ask for fire on a target where he himself was located."[5]
Gul Hassan Khan was born in Quetta, Balochistan, into a middle-class Pashtun family on 9 June 1921. His father was the Superintendent of the Government Railway Police. Gul Hassan had three brothers and a sister, of which he was the second oldest. He has relatives still residing in Pabbi Nowshera District and in Quetta, Pakistan.[6][7][8][9]
Gul Hassan survived the 1930 in Balochistan and devastating 1935 Quetta earthquake. In 1939, Gul Hassan joined the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College. In March 1940, he appeared for the competitive entrance examination into the Indian Military AcademyatDehra Dun but failed, not because of his academics, but because Hassan was late to his interview which was worth 500 marks on the exam.[10]
In January 1941, Gul Hassan took the exam again and got into the academy. He was an excellent Hockey player and gained fame as a boxer at the Military Academy.[11]
Gul Hassan was fluent in Urdu, Pashto, Punjabi, English, and Persian. Gul Hassan was married and had one son, Sher Hassan Khan, born in 1982.[12]
When his wife came from Vienna to see him in the hospital during his final days, he had given her 1.1 million rupees and his son a similar amount. The last 100,000 rupees he had left, he instructed his family to use for his funeral.[13]
On 22 February 1942, Gul Hassan was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the British Indian Army into the 9th battalion of the Frontier Force Rifles and was later transferred to the Armoured Corps.[8][11][14]
Gul Hassan attended an Intelligence course in March 1943 at Karachi where his commandant was Lieutenant Colonel J Campbell.[12]
Gul Hassan was stationed in Assam with Assam Rifles and participated in the Burma Campaign in 1944–45. He recalled the stench of the dead bodies of Japanese soldiers and that he witnessed the British Indian Army burning bodies of the Japanese.[8][11][15]
Towards the end of the war, Gul Hassan was appointed as the aide-de-camptoGeneral Viscount Slim who commanded the 14th Army in Burma.[16]
After the Partition of British India, Gul Hassan opted for Pakistan and served as aide-de-camptoMuhammad Ali Jinnah.[17]
Gul Hassan attended the Command and Staff College Quetta in 1950 and in September 1951, he was posted to the Military Training Directorate GHQ under director Brigadier Jerrad, who he had met in Burma.[2][18]
Gul Hassan was the Directing Staff at Command and Staff College Quetta from 30 June 1957 to 16 June 1959.[2]
During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Gul Hassan was the Director of Military Operations in the GHQ.[19] His actions of valor won him the nomination of prestigious Sitara-e-Pakistan by the President. After the 1965 war, he was promoted to major general and was made the GOC of the 1st Armoured Division headquartered in Multan, Punjab.[13]
In September 1968, Gul Hassan was appointed as Colonel Commandant of the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers.[20]
On 20 December 1968, Gul Hassan was posted to General Headquarters as the Chief of General Staff (CGS). Gul Hassan was promoted to Lieutenant General while serving in this post in 1971.[21][22]
According to the testimony provided by Major General A.O. Mitha, it was Gul Hassan's lobbying at the Army GHQ which saved then Brigadier Zia-ul-Haq (Chief of Pakistan's military mission) from being sacked. Brigadier Zia, who was in Jordan in 1971, was recommended to be court-martialed by Major General Nawazish in his submission to President Yahya Khan for disobeying GHQ orders by commanding a Jordanian armoured division against the Palestinians, as part of "Operation Black September" in which thousands were killed.[23] It was Gul Hasan who interceded for Zia ultimately leading to Yahya Khan letting Zia off the hook.[24]
In 1971, he was the Chief of General Staff at the Army GHQ. He lacked foresight and was viewed by some of his colleagues in Pakistan Army as "short on strategic vision, but he was a field commander par excellence - by our standards, at any rate. He almost equaled Patton in linguistic matters, but he was our version of Robert E. Lee in the field. Gul Hassan was warm, sincere, forthright, without a trace of cant or deceit, wholly committed to his command, bold and generous of spirit."[13]
According to several sources, Gul Hassan was unaware of Operation Searchlight and had a strong dislike for General A. A. K. Niazi. In a conversation with Yahya Khan, Gul Hassan was informed about Niazi's promotion and his own. Yahya Khan asked, "When did you see General Abdul Hamid Khan [the Chief of Staff] last?" Gul Hassan replied, "I just came from his office."
Yahya continued, "Didn't he tell you that you have been promoted?" Gul Hassan, puzzled, responded, "No, Sir. Where am I going?"
Yahya clarified, "Nowhere." Confused, Gul Hassan questioned, "Then why should I be promoted?"
Yahya explained, "Because we are promoting Niazi who is junior to you. So we have had to give you the next rank."
Gul Hassan further inquired, "Where is Niazi going?" Yahya replied, "As commander Eastern Command."
In frustration, Gul Hassan cursed out loud. In response, President Yahya Khan remarked to Sultan Khan who was also present, "This is what he thinks of my senior officers." Additionally, Gul Hassan had assessed Niazi as having a professional "ceiling no more than that of a company commander."[25]
General Abdul Hamid Khan, as Chief of Staff, was the de facto C-in-C Pakistan ArmyasYahya Khan was usually drunk. However, Abdul Hamid failed to fulfill his responsibilities in either role. According to Gul Hassan, Abdul Hamid had the authority but avoided taking responsibility. Abdul Hamid withheld crucial information from the GHQ, leaving them unaware of diplomatic developments and military plans. Gul Hassan adds that despite General A. A. K. Niazi's incompetence, Abdul Hamid supported him, worsening the situation. Gul Hassan states that by September, it seemed inevitable that India would intervene in East Pakistan and Yahya attempted to seek help from the United States but received no response. Similarly, Yahya reached out to China and they told him to find a political solution. Gul Hassan goes on to say that Yahya was praying that Pakistan would be rescued by angels. Gul Hassan notes that A. A. K. Niazi, oblivious to the reality, did not anticipate an Indian invasion and falsely reported normalcy in East Pakistan. Despite warnings, Abdul Hamid failed to convey critical assessments to Yahya, who remained detached from the situation, "foolishly" declining a request for an urgent briefing by Gul Hassan.[26] The army faced a dire disadvantage against India and rebels, with Yahya's leadership lacking direction. After the war, Yahya blamed the loss of East Pakistan on "the treachery of Indians", while Gul Hassan attributed the loss to Pakistan's "own blunders."[27][28]
On 17 December 1971, Brigadier F.B. Ali wrote his resignation letter accepting his own responsibility for the loss of East Pakistan and expected that Yahya Khan and his advisors would follow suit and also resign. But the next day Ali had heard that Yahya was planning to create a new Constitution which infuriated Ali. Brigadier Ali determined that the loss of one war was enough and that it was imperative to get rid of the military junta of Yahya Khan. He picked up Brigadier Iqbal Mehdi Shah, Colonel Aleem Afridi, Colonel Agha Javed Iqbal, Lt Col Khursheed, and other officers and told them that they owed it to Pakistan to get rid of the discredited junta and hand over power to the elected civilian representatives.[29][30]
All officers present, agreed. However, there was a problem as Maj Gen Bashir "Ranghar", Major General R.D. Shamim, and Major General "Bachoo" Karim were in Gujranwala and had the authority to counter F.B. Ali's orders.
On 19 December 1971, F.B. Ali arrested the three generals and seized command of Major General "Bachoo" Karim's 6th Armoured Division. Ali then sent Colonels Aleem Afridi and Agha Javed Iqbal to deliver a letter demanding Yahya Khan's resignation by 8 PM that night for being responsible for the loss of East Pakistan. The two Colonels took the letter to CGS Gul Hassan, who initially felt saddened by the defeat in the war and told them that he planned to leave the army. However, upon learning about the contents of the letter from the two Colonels, Gul Hassan's mood brightened, and he went to Air Marshal Abdur Rahim Khan. Gul Hassan told Colonel Aleem Afridi and Colonel Agha Javed Iqbal to sit in Major Javed Nasir's office.[29]
Earlier in the day, during an address by General Abdul Hamid Khan in Gujranwala, young officers, led by Brigadier Fazal-e-Rasiq Khan, unleashed a barrage of insults in English, Urdu, and Punjabi towards Abdul Hamid, Yahya Khan, and other superiors. They called them "bloody bastards," "debauches," and "drunkards," expressing their deep frustration.[29]
Abdul Hamid Khan was rushed out of the auditorium and sought advice from Major General A.O. Mitha who stated that he could deploy SSG troops to prevent a potential takeover by 6 Division but there were not enough troops. A.O. Mitha then reached out to Ali suggesting that Abdul Hamid Khan should take over from Yahya Khan. Ali refused stating that Abdul Hamid was too close to Yahya Khan and was just as responsible for the loss of East Pakistan.[29]
Meanwhile, the reports of near mutiny in Gujranwala prompted Gul Hassan Khan and Air Marshal Abdur Rahim Khan to go to Yahya Khan, telling him to resign. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was invited by Abdur Rahim Khan and Gul Hassan Khan from Rome to assume leadership, leading to him becoming the fourth President of Pakistan.[31]
While Gul Hassan was not part of the Bangladesh genocide, a witness mentioned him in the Hamoodur Rahman Commission report. During visits to East Pakistan, he would ask soldiers how many Bengalis they had shot.[32]
Despite there being no other mention of Gul Hassan's role in the Bengali genocide, Bengali Dr. A.H. Jaffor Ullah believes Gul Hassan did play a role, though not as the main actor. While Dr. Jaffor Ullah acknowledges that Gul Hassan was not the one who directly executed orders as Lt. Gen. Tikka Khan was the trigger man, Dr. Jaffor Ullah argues that Gul Hassan provided intellectual support and leadership, contributing to the genocide's occurrence.[33]
After Zulfikar Ali Bhutto arrived in Pakistan from Rome on the jet that Abdur Rahim Khan sent for him, Bhutto called Gul Hassan to take over the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, which Gul Hassan refused citing the fact that the army had been demoralized from the defeat.[34][35][36]
However, in a meeting at the Punjab House with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Gul Hassan gave Bhutto four conditions: 1. He wanted to remain a Lieutenant General, even though the C-in-C was traditionally a four-star General. 2. Bhutto had to organize the withdrawal of troops from the border. 3. Martial Law had to be lifted. 4. Bhutto would not meddle in the operations of the Pakistan Army.[34][37]
Bhutto accepted and on 20 December 1971 in a televised address to the nation stated:[31][38]
ADDRESS
PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN ZULFIKAR ALI BHUTTOI have asked General Gul Hassan to be acting Commander-in-Chief. He is a professional soldier. I do not think he has dabbled in politics and I think he has the respect and support of the Armed Forces... but he will retain the rank of lieutenant general. We are not going to make unnecessary promotions. We are a poor country. We are not going to unnecessarily fatten people.
The next day, Gul Hassan rang up President Bhutto and asked why he had lied that it was his decision to keep Gul Hassan as a Lt Gen, as if Gul Hassan had not chosen to remain as Lt Gen as one of his conditions for accepting the post. Bhutto responded by saying the Commander-in-Chief did not grasp politics well and missed the point. Despite Gul Hassan's request to keep politics out of their dealings, Bhutto persisted. Days later, Bhutto asked if Gul Hassan had watched the Dhaka surrender film, inviting him to view it. Gul Hassan refused, feeling that Bhutto, now the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, was aggravating wounds instead of healing them. Gul Hassan later discovered Bhutto had brought the film from abroad and aired it on national television repeatedly until public outcry halted it.
Bhutto later wanted to join the new C-in-C on a troop tour, but Gul Hassan refused. He feared that Bhutto, a skilled public speaker, would twist the situation to suggest Gul Hassan lacked courage. Gul Hassan believed Bhutto would win politically either way, making him appear weak or overshadow Gul Hassan's authority.[39]
AsCommander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, he lessened the role of the ISI which lost its importance throughout this time, and did not pay any attention to the ISI as he relied on the Intelligence Bureau (IB).[40][41] The ISI's covert operations were never revealed to Gul Hassan; instead the ISI began directly reporting to President Bhutto.[41]
Gul Hassan and Abdur Rahim Khan refused Bhutto's request of sending in the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Air Force to end a strike of police officers protesting for pay increase. They believed that their forces should be kept out of political matters and the civilian leadership should deal with it. Bhutto termed the police strike as a mutiny and removed the two from their positions for not following his illegal orders. Tikka Khan and Zafar Chaudhry took over the newly created roles of Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Air Staff.[42][43][37][44][45]
Khan was appointed as Pakistan's ambassador to Austria by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on 26 May 1972.[46][47][48]Zulfikar Ali Bhutto designated Gul Hassan as Ambassador of Pakistan to Greece in April 1975.[49]
On 15 April 1977, in a letter of resignation, Gul Hassan condemned Bhutto's leadership and called him a traitor for his role in the loss of East Pakistan. Gul Hassan further accused him of failing the people of Pakistan, causing chaos and violence in the country, exploiting the nation for personal gain, and rigging the 1977 Pakistani general election. Afterwards, the Government of Pakistan alongside the Federal Investigation Agency filed an FIR against Gul Hassan for "hatred or contempt and inciting disaffection towards the Government."[40][50]
Gul Hassan lived a quiet life and had not acquired wealth unlike other generals of the army. He resided in two rooms of the GHQ's Artillery Mess. In the last few years of his life, he divided his time between Rawalpindi and Vienna, Austria where his wife and their son lived.[51]
Gul Hassan Khan died on 10 October 1999 and was buried in Pabbi in Nowshera District (Main town of Chirrat Cant, Chowki Mumriaz, Taroo Jaba, Akber Pura). Prior to his death, Gul Hassan had a small amount of money in his bank account and instructed that his burial cloth be brought with it.[13]
Khan, Gul Hassan (1993). Memoirs of Lt. Gen. Gul Hassan Khan. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195774474.
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| Parachutist Badge | |||
| Sitara-e-Pakistan
(Star of Pakistan) (SPk) |
Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam
(SQA) | ||
| Tamgha-e-Diffa
(General Service Medal) 1. 1965 War Clasp 2. 1971 War Clasp |
Tamgha-e-Jang 1965 War
(War Medal 1965) |
Tamgha-e-Jang 1971 War
(War Medal 1971) |
Pakistan Tamgha
1947 |
| Tamgha-e-Jamhuria
(Republic Commemoration Medal) 1956 |
Burma Star | War Medal | Queen Elizabeth II
(1953) |
| Foreign Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
 UK
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Burma Star |
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| War Medal 1939-1945 |
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| Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal |
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| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chief of General Staff 1968–1971 |
Succeeded by M. Rahim Khan |
| Preceded by | Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army 1971–1972 |
Succeeded by |
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Chiefs of the Staff of the Pakistan Army
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| Commander-in-Chief (1947-1972) |
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| Chiefs of Army Staff (1972-present) |
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| Vice Chief of Army Staff |
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| Related |
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| International |
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| National |
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