Tikka Khan
Tikka Khan | |
|---|---|
| ٹِکّا خاں | |
Tikka Khan as COAS, c. 1973 | |
| 1st Chief of Army Staff | |
| In office 3 March 1972 – 1 March 1976 | |
| President | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry |
| Prime Minister | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto |
| Preceded by | Gul Hassan (as C-in-C of the Army) |
| Succeeded by | Zia-ul-Haq |
| National Security Advisor | |
| In office 1 March 1976 – 4 July 1977 | |
| President | Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry |
| Prime Minister | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto |
| Preceded by | Ghulam Omar |
| Succeeded by | Rao Farman Ali |
| 13th Governor of East Pakistan | |
| In office 25 March 1971 – 31 August 1971 | |
| President | Yahya Khan |
| Preceded by | Lt-Gen. Yaqub Ali Khan |
| Succeeded by | Abdul Motaleb Malik |
| 3rd Commander of Eastern Command | |
| In office 25 March 1971 – 10 April 1971 | |
| President | Yahya Khan |
| Preceded by | Yaqub Ali Khan |
| Succeeded by | A.A.K. Niazi |
| 23rd Governor of Punjab | |
| In office 9 December 1988 – 6 August 1990 | |
| President | Ghulam Ishaq Khan |
| Prime Minister | Benazir Bhutto |
| Preceded by | S.J. Qureshi |
| Succeeded by | Muhammad Azhar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 February 1915 Kahuta, Punjab, British India |
| Died | 28 March 2002 (aged 87) Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Resting place | Westridge cemetery |
| Citizenship | British India (1915–1947) Pakistan (1947–2002) |
| Political party | Pakistan Peoples Party |
| Children | 5 |
| Alma mater | Indian Military Academy |
| Civilian awards | List |
| Nickname | Butcher of Bengal |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | British India (1935–1947) Pakistan (1947–1976) |
| Branch/service | British Indian Army Pakistan Army |
| Years of service | 1935–1976 |
| Rank | General |
| Unit | Regiment of Artillery |
| Commands | Eastern Command IV Corps II Corps 8th Infantry Division, Rann of Kutch 15th Infantry Division, Sialkot |
| Battles/wars | |
| Military awards | List |
| Service number | PA – 124 |
Tikka Khan, also known as the Butcher of Bengal. (Urdu: ٹِکّا خاں; 10 February 1915 – 28 March 2002) was a Pakistani military officer and war criminal who served as the first chief of the army staff from 1972 to 1976. Along with Yahya Khan and Abdul Hamid Khan, he is considered a chief architect of the 1971 Bangladesh genocide that resulted in the deaths of, depending on which authority is consulted, between three hundred thousand and three million people.
Gaining a commission in 1940 as an artillery officer in the British Indian Army to participate in World War II, he rose to command the 8th and 15th infantry divisions in the lost war with India in 1965. In 1969, he was appointed as the commander of IV Corps while acting as martial law administrator in West Pakistan under President Yahya Khan. In 1971, he took over the command of army's Eastern Command in East Pakistan and appointed as Governor of East Pakistan where he oversaw the planning and the military deployments to execute the military operations to quell the liberation war efforts by the Awami League.
After commanding the II Corps in the war with India in 1971, Tikka Khan was promoted to four-star rank and appointed as the first chief of army staff of the Pakistan Army in 1972. As an army chief, Tikka Khan provided support to the Pakistan nuclear programme alongside bureaucrat Ghulam Ishaq Khan. Upon retirement from the military in 1976, he was subsequently appointed as National Security Advisor by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, only to be removed in 1977 as a result of enforced martial law. In the 1980s, he remained active as a political worker of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and emerged as its leader when appointed as Governor of Punjab after the general elections held in 1988. His tenure ended when President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's government in 1990 and he was succeeded by Mian Muhammad Azhar. He retired from politics in 1990. He died on 28 March 2002 and was buried with full military honours in Westridge cemetery in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan.