Aziz Khan (general)

General Muhammad Aziz Khan (Urdu: محمّد عزیز خان‎  1 January 1947) NI(m), HI(m), TBt, best known as Aziz Khan, is a retired four-star rank army general in the Pakistan Army who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, appointed on October 2001 until his retirement in 2005.[1] He belonged to an elite Sudhan family.[2]

Muhammad Aziz Khan
جنرل محمد عزیز خان
Gen. Aziz Khan in c. 2001
Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
In office
7 October 2001 – 6 October 2004
Preceded byGen. Pervez Musharraf
Succeeded byGen. Ehsan ul Haq
President of the Pakistan Hockey Federation
In office
2000–2005
Preceded byArif Ali Abbasi
Succeeded byTariq Kirmani
Personal details
Born
Muhammad Aziz Khan

(1947-01-01) 1 January 1947
Pallandri, Kashmir, British India
Alma materPakistan Military Academy
Military service
Allegiance Pakistan
Branch/service Pakistan Army
Years of service1964–2004
RankGeneral
Unit12th Punjab Regiment
CommandsIV Corps in Lahore
Chief of General Staff
Dir. ISI (Analysis)
Northern Command in Gilgit
CO Northern Light Infantry
COS X Corps, Rawalpindi
Battles/warsIndo-Pakistan War of 1965
Indo-Pakistan War of 1971
Indo-Pakistani War of 1999
India-Pakistan standoff 2001
War in Afghanistan
Sri Lankan Civil War
AwardsNishan-e-Imtiaz (military)
Hilal-e-Imtiaz (military)
Tamgha-e-Basalat

Before surprisingly superseding several military officers for the appointment as the Chairman joint chiefs in 2001,[3] Gen. Aziz was the leading general who commanded the Northern Command against the Indian Army in the 1999 Kargil War, and was one of four army generals who helped to initiate the military turnover of the civilian government of Prime minister Nawaz Sharif, also in 1999.[4][5][5][6]

Biography

Muhammad Aziz Khan was born in Pallandri, Sudhanoti, Jammu and Kashmir in British India (Azad Kashmir, Pakistan) on 1 January 1947.:228[7] He belonged to elite Sudhan family, one of the Sadozai Pashtun tribe.:286[8] He first graduating from the High School Palandri, before joining the joined the Pakistan Army in 1964.:228[7] He first completed his combat duty with the army during the second war with India in 1965, before being redirected to join the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA).:228[7]

In 1966, Aziz passed out from the PMA Kakul with the class of 1st War Course, which is senior to 37th PMA but junior to 38th PMA Long Course, gaining commissioned as 2nd-Lt. in the 12th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment.[3] He went to command an infantry platoon during the third war with India in 1971, and was later sent to attend the Command and Staff College where he qualified as a psc.[9] He later went to attend the National Defence University where he graduated with MSc in War studies.[9] In 1980s, Lt-Col. Aziz commanded the 12th Battalion before joining the Zia administration's staff.[9]

In 1980s, Colonel Aziz was selected to be appointed as Military Secretary (Mil Secy) to President Zia-ul-Haq, assisting him when President Zia paid state visit to the United States to meet with U.S. President Ronald Reagan.:220[10] He was later posted as military attaché at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington D.C. for the United States Army to maintain military relations with the U.S. military.:220[10]

In 1990, Brigadier Aziz was posted as the Chief of Staff of the X Corps which was under Lt-Gen. G.M. Malik before being stationed in Siachen to command the Northern Light Infantry (NLI).[9] In 1991–94, Brig. Aziz eventually moved to command the 80th Brigade attached to the Northern Command stationed in the Azad Kashmir.:82[11]

War and Command appointments in the military

Chief of General Staff and Kargil war with India
Main articles: Kargil war, 1999 Pakistani coup d'état, and Civil-military relations
Kargil region in 1999: Lt-Gen. Aziz was the leading general in masterminding the area contingency plans for the Norther Command to infiltrate the Indian Kashmir.:101[12]

In 1994, Brig. Aziz was promoted as two-star rank when he posted as the GOC of the Force Command North based in Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan.[9] Maj-Gen. Aziz served as the GOC of the Northern Command until 1996 when he was promoted to the three-star rank, leaving the command of Maj-Gen. Javed Hassan.[9]

In 1996, Lieutenant-General Aziz was posted with the ISI, directing the ISI's analysis department, which had been responsible for providing analysis and gathering intelligence in India and Afghanistan, until 1998.:141[13] Lt-Gen. Aziz was mainly responsible in keeping intelligence on the Talibans in Afghanistan, and had reputation in the country for his ultraconservative views.:contests[14]

On October 1998, Lt-Gen. Aziz was moved to the Army GHQ when he was appointed as the Chief of General Staff, a second-in-command post under the Chief of Army Staff. Himself a Kashmiri, Gen. Aziz was fully committed to the Kashmir cause, begin implementing the plan for covert infiltration in Indian Kashmir, with the approval of the Chief of Army Staff.:170[15]

Later investigative reports compiled by Pakistani historians and journalists, it was revealed that Lt-Gen. Aziz was the leading general who was masterminding the area contingency operations of the Norther Command led by its GOC Maj-Gen. Javed Hassan.:contents[16] Despite being well aware of the consequences, the writers critically questioned Lt-Gen. Aziz's grand strategy that brought the two nations at the brink of war, with international opinion widely accepting the Indian narrative.:contents[16]

During the heights of the military actions in Kargil region, the Indian intelligence was able to taped the telephonic conversations took place between the Chairman joint chiefs and army chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Chief of General Staff, Lt-Gen. Aziz, proving that it was the Pakistan Army that had infiltrated without the official approval from the executive, the civilian government led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.:101[12] When the conversations were leaked by the India's Union Ministry of Defence, Prime Minister Sharif met with Lt-Gen. Aziz who continuously denied the authenticity of the tapes, later confided to Chairman joint chiefs Musharraf that the success of operation relied on "total secrecy.":101[12]

Later Pakistani Investigative journalist news reports identified that there were four army generals who were in much control of the area contingency plans in Kargil including Lt-Gen. Mahmud Ahmed, commanding the X Corps, Lt-Gen. Shahid Aziz of ISI's Analysis Wing, and Lt-Gen. Jan Orakzai, commanding the XI Corps, besides Lt-Gen. Aziz.:101[12][17]

After the Kargil incident, there were no official military inquiries into this incident nor there were any subsequent evidence that led to the punishments of those responsible for such incidents.[18]

On 12 October 1999, Lt-Gen. Aziz played a decisive role in initiating the military takeover of the civilian government led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif when he refused to transfer the control of the military to General Ziauddin Butt.:contents[19] Passing orders to take over the control of the Jinnah Terminal in Karachi, Lt-Gen. Aziz effectively gained control of the military in favor of the Gen. Pervez Musharraf who removed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his administration.:contents[19]

After the President Clinton paying a state visit to Pakistan in 2000, Lt-Gen. Aziz was removed from his position and was appointed as the field commander of the IV Corps stationed in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, which he commanded until 2001.[20]

Chairman Joint chiefs
Main articles: 2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff and Sri Lankan Civil War
Chairman joint chiefs Gen. Aziz meeting with American Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to hold discussions on military logistics in the War in Afghanistan in 2001.
Gen. Aziz had been very critical President Musharraf's policy on siding with the United States against the Taliban in Afghanistan.[21]

On 6 October 2001, Lt-Gen. Aziz was surprisingly promoted to four-star rank with an immediate effect when he was appointed as the Chairman joint chiefs.[22]

This promotion was one of the earliest controversial decisions made by the Musharraf administration, where news media had been very critical of this appointment.[3] At the time of the promotion, Lt-Gen. Aziz was sixth in the seniority with senior army generals who were in the race of promotion to four-star included with seniority:

While Gen. Yusaf and Gen. Aziz were elevated to their four-star commanding appointments, the remaining four army generals seek their retirement when they tendered their resignations.[3] Resignations of Mahmud Ahmed and Osmani were widely rumoured due to their closeness to the terrorists outfits.[24][3] He also stayed as the Colonel-in-Chief of the Punjab Regiment appointed by General Pervez Musharraf on 21 March 2003.[25]

Upon appointed, Gen. Aziz called on President Musharraf, thanking the president for the promotion.[26] Despite his initial support for Gen. Musharraf, Aziz Khan soon regretted playing his part in bringing to help stabilize Gen. Pervez Musharraf's role against the civilian government when he lectured and quoted: "politics should not be done in uniform.":156[27]

In 2001, Gen. Aziz publicly came out against President Pervez Musharraf's policy on siding with the United States, without effectively addressing the issue of containing the terrorists organizations.[21] He viewed the American attack on Afghanistan with great suspicion, and had held sympathetic views towards the Talibans in Afghanistan, and harboured strong anti-American views when he termed the Americans as "number one enemy".:156[28]

In a response to the terrorist attack on Indian parliament in 2001, Gen. Aziz oversaw the troop deployment across the border amid the military standoff, and supportive towards the Chinese mediation between the relations of two countries.:21[29]

In 2003, Gen. Aziz went to visit Sri Lanka where he met with Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga where he agreed to provide military assistance to Sri Lanka to their civil war.[30] In 2005, Gen. Aziz's timely retirement was confirmed by President Musharraf and disassociate himself with Aziz with further political appointments despite rumors.[31] Gen. Aziz was succeeded by Gen. Ehsan ul Haq, amid another controversial appointment in 2004.[31]

See also

References
  1. Excerpts from SP Military. 2004. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  2. Across the Line of Control: Inside Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir. p. 124.
  3. Shegal, Maj. Ikram (9 October 2001). "Choosing Merit over Friendship - Media Monitors Network (MMN)". Media Monitors Network (MMN). Media Monitors Network (MMN). Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  4. Kiani, Khaleeq (28 January 2013). "Kargil adventure was four-man show: general". DAWN.COM. Islamabad: Dawn newspapers, 2013. Dawn newspapers. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  5. Kiani, Khaleeq (31 October 2001). "Commanders discuss situation". Dawn Archives, 2001. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  6. 'New Vice Chief and CJCSC'
  7. Bhattacharya, Brigadier Samir (2014). NOTHING BUT! (google books) (1st ed.). Cambridge, UK: Partridge Publishing. p. 650. ISBN 9781482817874. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  8. Hiro, Dilip (2014). War Without End: The Rise of Islamist Terrorism and Global Response. Routledge. ISBN 9781136485565. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  9. "COLONEL IN CHIEF – PUNJAB REGIMENT". www.pakarmymuseum.com. Pakistan Army Museum. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  10. SP's Military Yearbook. Guide Publications. 2004. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  11. Verma, Ashok Kalyan (2002). Kargil, Blood on the Snow: Tactical Victory, Strategic Failure : a Critical Analysis of the War. Manohar. p. 227. ISBN 9788173044113. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  12. Jones, Owen Bennett (2003). "§Kashmir". Pakistan: Eye of the Storm (1st ed.). New York, US: Yale University Press. p. 310. ISBN 0300101473. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  13. Kiessling, Hein (2016). "§The ISI under Ziauddin". Faith, Unity, Discipline: The Inter-Service-Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan (1st ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 315. ISBN 9781849048620. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  14. Jaishankar, K.; Ronel, Natti (2013). "§Jihad as State policy". Global Criminology: Crime and Victimization in a Globalized Era. CRC Press. ISBN 9781482209617. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  15. Abbas, Hassan (2015). "§Chapter 7: A Return to Democracy". Pakistan's Drift Into Extremism: Allah, the Army, and America's War on Terror. Routledge. p. 243. ISBN 9781317463283. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  16. Ahmed, Khaled (2016). Sleepwalking to Surrender: Dealing with Terrorism in Pakistan. UK: Penguin UK. ISBN 9789386057624. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  17. PTI (5 November 2013). "Nawaz Sharif shakes hands with army general linked to the 1999 coup". The Economic Times. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  18. Raman, B. (18 September 2000). "Pakistan: Mullahs' blue-eyed general". www.thehindubusinessline.com. Islamabad: Work written by B. Raman, Additional Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India.). The Hindu. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  19. Sehri, Inam (2012). Judges and Generals of Pakistan Volume - I. Grosvenor House Publishing. ISBN 9781781480434. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  20. Asia yearbook. Far Eastern Economic Review. 2001. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  21. McCarthy, Rory (14 June 2002). "Rumsfeld in Kashmir climbdown". the Guardian. The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  22. Kiyani, Khaleeq (13 October 2001). "Commanders discuss situation". asianstudies.github.io (07/41). Islamabad: DAWN WIRE SERVICE. Dawn Newspapers. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  23. Kiani, Khaleeq (8 October 2001). "Commanders discuss situation". DAWN.COM. Dawn Newspapers. Dawn Newspapers. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  24. Harding, Luke (9 October 2001). "Musharraf dismisses two Islamist generals". the Guardian. The Guardian, 2001. The Guardian. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  25. "Army can defend every inch: Musharraf". Daily Times. 22 March 2003.
  26. "Gen Aziz, Gen Yousuf call on President". DAWN.COM. 9 October 2001. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  27. Indian Defence Review. Lancer International. 2003. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  28. Khera, Col. P.N. (2009). Verma, Bharat (ed.). Indian Defence Review (google books) (1st ed.). New Delhi: Lancer Publishers. p. 100. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  29. Dragon on Terrorism: Assessing China's Tactical Gains and Strategic Losses Post-September 11. DIANE Publishing. p. 60. ISBN 9781428910935. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  30. "Gen Aziz in Sri Lanka". DAWN.COM. 15 September 2003. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  31. Raman, B. (4 October 2004). "Why Musharraf shuffled his generals". www.rediff.com. Rediff. Rediff. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
Military offices
Preceded by
Ali Kuli Khan Khattak		 Chief of General Staff
1998 – 2000		 Succeeded by
Yusaf Khan
Preceded by
Pervez Musharraf		 Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
2001 – 2004		 Succeeded by
Ehsan ul Haq
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