Yahya Khan
From Free net encyclopedia
| Image:Yahyakhan.jpg | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth: | February 4, 1917 |
| Date of Death: | August 10, 1980 |
| President of Pakistan | |
| Tenure Order: | 3th President |
| Term in Office: | March 25, 1969 – December 20, 1971 |
| Predecessor: | Ayub Khan |
| Successor: | Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto |
| Chief of the Army Staff | |
| Tenure Order: | 5th Chief of the Army Staff |
| Term in Office: | 1969 – 1971 |
| Predecessor: | Gen. Musa Khan |
| Successor: | Gen. Gul Hasan |
Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (February 4 1917 – August 10 1980) was the President of Pakistan and Chief of Army Staff from 1969 to 1971, following the resignation of Ayub Khan. His rule was characterized by tensions in East Pakistan in the early 1970s that finally led to its secession following the Bangladesh Liberation War. The twin failures, the dismemberment of the nation and the military defeat at the hands of arch rival India (see Indo-Pakistani War of 1971), forced him to resign and hand over power to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Yahya Khan was born in Chakwal in 1917 to a family of Persian speaking soldiers. He attended Punjab University and finished first in his class. He then joined the British Army, and served in World War II as an officer in the British Indian 4th Division. He served in Iraq, Italy, and North Africa.
In March 1969 Ayub Khan resigned under intense public pressure. Instead of transferring power to the speaker of the National Assembly, as the constitution dictated, however, he handed it over to the commander in chief of the army, General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan. Yahya assumed the presidential office and declared martial law.In an attempt to make his martial-law regime more acceptable, Yahya dismissed almost 300 senior civil servants and identified 30 families that were said to control about half of Pakistan's gross national product. To curb their power Yahya issued an ordinance against monopolies and restrictive trade practices in 1970. He also made commitments to transfer power to civilian authorities, but in the process of making this shift, his intended reforms broke down.
The greatest challenge to Pakistan's unity, however, was presented by East Pakistan, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, leader of the Awami League, who insisted on a federation under which East Pakistan would be virtually independent. He saw a federal government that would deal with defense and foreign affairs only; the currencies would be different, although freely convertible. His program had great appeal for East Pakistanis, and in the election of December 1970 called by Yahya, Mujib, as he was called, won by a landslide in East Pakistan, capturing a majority in the National Assembly. Bhutto's Pakistan People's party (PPP) emerged as the largest in West Pakistan.
Suspecting Mujib of secessionist politics, Yahya in March 1971 postponed indefinitely the convening of the National Assembly. Mujib in return accused Yahya of collusion with Bhutto and established a virtually independent government in East Pakistan. Yahya opened negotiations with Mujib in Dacca in mid-March, but the effort soon failed. Mujib was arrested and brought to West Pakistan to be tried for treason. General Rahimuddin Khan was appointed by Yahya to oversee the proceedings, and would later sentence Mujib to an unconfirmed guilty verdict (which Bhutto would go on to veto). Meanwhile Pakistan's army went into action against Mujib's civilian followers, who demanded freedom and independence for Bangladesh (“Bengali Nation”). Image:Yahya and Nixon.jpg
There were a great many casualties during the ensuing military operations in East Pakistan, as the Pakistani army attacked the poorly armed population. India claimed that nearly 10 million Bengali refugees crossed its borders, and stories of West Pakistani atrocities abounded. The Awami League leaders took refuge in Calcutta and established a government in exile. India finally intervened on December 3, 1971, and the Pakistani army surrendered 13 days later.Later anger over its defeat by India boiled into street demonstrations throughout Pakistan, rumors of an impending coup d'état by younger army officers against the government of President Mohammed Agha Yahya Khan swept the country. Yahya became the highest-ranking casualty of the war: to forestall further unrest, he hastily surrendered his powers to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, age 43, the ambitious leader of West Pakistan's powerful People's Party and in January 1972 an independent Bangladesh came into existence. When the Commonwealth of Nations admitted Bangladesh later that year, Pakistan withdrew from membership, not to return until 1989. However, the Bhutto government gave diplomatic recognition to Bangladesh in 1974.
Yahya Khan died in August 1980, in Rawalpindi.
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