Iqbal Khan (general)

General Mohammad Iqbal Khan (Punjabi and Urdu: اقبال خان‬); NI(m), SI(m), SBt), was a retired four-star rank army general in the Pakistan Army who served as the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from being appointed in 1980 until 1984.[2][3]

Iqbal Khan
General Iqbal Khan (right), ca. 1980.
Birth nameMohammad Iqbal Khan
Nickname(s)M.I. Khan
BornPindi Gheb
DiedRawalpindi
Allegiance Pakistan
Service/branch Pakistan Army
Years of service1944–1984
Rank General
Service numberPA – 2052[1]
UnitGuides Infantry, Frontier Force
Commands heldChairman Joint Chiefs of Staff
Deputy Chief of Army Staff
V Corps in Karachi
IV Corps in Lahore
Chief of General Staff, Army GHQ
33rd Infantry Division, Quetta
DG Military Intelligence (DG MI)
Battles/warsIndo-Pakistani War of 1947
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Baloch insurgency of 1970s
Soviet–Afghan War
Awards Nishan-i-Imtiaz (military)
Sitara-i-Imtiaz (military)
Sitara-e-Basalat

Biography

Mohammad Iqbal Khan was educated and graduated from the Military College in Jhelum and was commissioned in the British Indian Army in 1944.[3] He joined the Guides Infantry in the 2nd Frontier Force Regiment as 2nd-Lt. and later serving in the first war with India on Kashmir front in 1947.[3][4]

After participating in second war with India in 1965, Brigadier Iqbal was appointed as the Director-General of the Military Intelligence in 1969, and was politically involved in supporting the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) against the Awami League.:50[5] Eventually, Brig. Iqbal held the responsibility of Military Intelligence in 1971.[6]

In 1971–73, Major-General Iqbal held the command of the 33rd Infantry Division in Quetta as its GOC, and oversaw the military operations against the armed insurgency groups in Balochistan in Pakistan.[7]

In 1974, Maj-Gen. Iqbal was posted as Chief of General Staff (CGS) under Chief of Army Staff General Tikka Khan at the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi which he served until 1976.[8] In 1976, Maj-Gen. Iqbal was promoted to the three-star rank army general and was posted as field commander of the IV Corps based in Lahore.[9]

In 1977, Lieutenant-General Iqbal took over the control of the Punjab in Pakistan as its martial law administrator when Chief of Army Staff Gen. Zia-ul-Haq imposed the martial law against the civilian government on 5 July 1977.:194[10] Lt-Gen. Iqbal was later rotated when Lt-Gen. Sawar Khan took command of the IV Corps, and appointed as the field commander of the V Corps and served as the martial law administrator of Sindh in Pakistan.[11]

In 1978, Lt-Gen. Iqbal was again posted at the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi when he was appointed as the Deputy Chief of Army Staff (DCOAS) under President Zia-ul-Haq.:430[12] During this time, he was appointed as the Colonel Commandant of the Frontier Force Regiment, which he served until his retirement in 1984.[1]

Chairman Joint chiefs (1980–1984)

In 1980, Lt-Gen. Iqbal, who at that time was the senior military officer in the military, was promoted to the four-star rank and appointed as the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.:156[12]

In 1980, Gen. Iqbal played a crucial role in maintaining of the Afghan Arabs in the country and supported the anti-Russian agitation when Soviet Union intervened in Afghanistan.:contents[13] Gen. iqbal eventually and coordinated the national security meetings concerning the covert efforts in Afghanistan.:contents[13]:viii[14] In 1984, Gen. Iqbal completed his four-year term and eventually retired from the military.[2]

References

  1. The Gazette of Pakistan. 1978. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  2. Top Story, et.all. (8 October 2013). "CJCSC office in Pakistan and the world over". The News International. Islamabad. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  3. "Honours of MCJ". Military College Jhelum. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  4. A.H. Amin. "Interview with Brig (retd) Shamim Yasin Manto" Archived 2013-05-03 at the Wayback Machine Defence Journal, February 2002
  5. Siddiqi, brigadier Abdul Rahman (2004). East Pakistan, the endgame : an onlooker's journal, 1969-1971. Karachi: Oxford University Press. p. 260. ISBN 9780195799934.
  6. Hamid Hussain. "Demons of December" Defence Journal, 2002 December
  7. Sehgal, Maj. Ikram (23 August 2007). "Learning from experience". The Daily Star. Islamabad. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  8. A.H. Amin "Remembering Our Warriors: Maj Gen (Retd) Tajammal Hussain Malik" Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Defence Journal, September 2001
  9. "Remembering Our Warriors". webcache.googleusercontent.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  10. Norman, Omar (2013). "(§Ethnic Conflict)". Pakistan:Political and Economics History since 1947 (google books). New York [u.s.]: Routledge. p. 225. ISBN 9781136143946. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  11. Rizwan Hussain. Pakistan and the Emergence of Islamic Militancy in Afghanistan Ashgate Publishing, 2005, ISBN 0-7546-4434-0
  12. "Pakistan under Zia, 1977–1988" by Shahid Javed Burki Asian Survey, Vol. 28, No. 10 (October, 1988), pp. 1082–1100
  13. Hilali, A. Z. (2017). US-Pakistan Relationship: Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan. Routledge. ISBN 9781351876223. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  14. Matinuddin, Kamal (1991). Power struggle in the Hindu Kush: Afghanistan, 1978-1991. Wajidalis. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
Military offices
Preceded by
M. Rahim Khan
Chief of General Staff
1974–1976
Succeeded by
Abdullah Malik
Preceded by
Mohammad Shariff
Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
1980–1984
Succeeded by
Rahimuddin Khan
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